Tangled
by Coka Cookie Cola
Summary: She was expecting her Prince Charming to be, well, charming. Instead, she meets a pipsqueak asshole outside the movie theatre. Where's the romance in that? (EdWin) AU
1. The First Meet and Greet

**My first FMA story! I'm so excited, even though I have like four others to finish. LOL! Longer chapters in the future; I promise you that!**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 1: First Meet and Greet**

"I don't know what you're complaining about, Winry. You look cute in those jeans."

The model in question blinked, bright baby blue eyes checking out the reflection in the mirror once more. But all she saw was an athletic figure; an average build, average appearance – trying to look ordinarily cute in a pair of skinny jeans and a plain white top. Why Winry Rockbell didn't think she looked like a supermodel, but then again, she worked at her grandmother's prosthetics shop for the summer. Which often meant she was too busy to get self-centered about appearances. At the same time, however, she felt a swerve of doubt hit her: she was tempted to ask Rose to define 'cute', but knew better.

"You think so?" Winry asked with a skeptical tone, continuing to stare at herself with a scrutinizing glare.

Her best friend Rose smiled. "Of course. You should get them; you can wear them with almost anything."

Winry sighed, before heading back into the changing stall. Rose was always like this: somewhat pushy to change Winry's style, without sounding rude or obnoxious, always suggesting to go shopping before dinner and a move. But Winry never had the heart to reject her harshly. Though Winry was what you could call a tomboy, she was also found wearing short skirts and colourful tank tops some days of the week. Again this was probably contributed to her grandmother's upbringing.

Winry tightened her ponytail, taking two ends of her extensive blonde hair and pulled them in the opposite direction. If there was anything that Rose didn't 'tease' her much, it was her bright blonde hair.

Sometimes she wondered why she was even friends with Rose in the first place. She more or less respected her on her faith, even if Winry herself never believed in God personally. Rose was also confident, and she never really disliked helping other people. Yes, she had her weird traits and imperfections, but who was really perfect these days? She had to remind herself of these points at times like these.

Easilly slipping out of the jeans, Winry quickly checked the price tag. Twenty seven dollars. Well, the price wasn't too bad, but still: she wasn't really in the mood to buy anything: even if she had the money. But at the same time though, Rose would prolong the trip until she got something. It was bad enough that Rose had to pressure her into doing these activities in the first place. Rose was no doubt the girliest girl that Winry knew; shopping, gossip, the whole nine yards. Whereas Winry would rather vomit than trying on half of the clothes that JC Penney had on their shelves, and boys? She was practically like one of the guys, since she had a summer job underneath her grandma's watchful gaze. Boys never really troubled her too much: she never even had her first crush.

The point was, Rose was Rose – no matter how many times you look at her, she won't ever change.

**:3 :3 :3**

Thursday July 10th 2014 had to be the hottest day of the entire year. At least, that was what Winry Rockbell thought, while she walked side by side with Rose down the busy street; occupied by bikers, crying children and boyfriends and girlfriends holding hands. Needless to say, it would be much cooler indoors, from grocery stores to multiple eating establishments. The smell of sweat and ice cream almost made her want to barf, which made Winry all the more eager to get indoors – away from all the overcrowded bodies. Fortunately for her though, their main destination was the Liore Theatre, located across from the central children's water park. They were supposed to be watching a re-run of Tangled in theatres, which Rose said she had yet to even see.

In all honesty, Winry didn't really care in the slightest about the movie choice; as long as they were in a cool atmosphere and away from the harmful heat rays coming from the sun, Winry would be okay. What she wouldn't do for a DQ blizzard right now. Either that, or a Creamy Chocolate Chill from Tim Horton's. But she didn't really feel like going on a plane to Canada just for that.

Why did she have to come to Liore in the first place?

Because she had friends here, who would always insist on her visiting for the summer – or at least a week, knowing Winry's grandmother's schedule. In short, this was her mini vacation and she just had to make the best of it; the sun would have killed her for sure if not for the copious amounts of sunscreen and two water bottles. Ice cream and swimming pools were also a must at this time of year, which gave Winry the excuse to kick back and instantly devour the frozen treats in her best friend's backyard. Not that anyone else should know about her eating habits…

"Winry? Are you listening?" Rose's voice, as well as her poking Winry's shoulder repeatedly, hindered her thoughts, bringing her back to the present.

"Of course I am," Winry weagerly retorted, staring into Rose'seyes with conviction. She wipe her forehead twice more, knowing she was sweating like a pig in this summer heat. Even her hometown of Risembool didn't get this hot…

"I was telling you that the theatre's up ahead," Rose hooked her arm with Winry's, and it occurred to Winry that she wasn't at all affected by the weather. Unlike Winry's clothes, Rose's ivory dress didn't seem to cling against her skin, as did Rose's dark, relaxed hair, how could she not be confined? Winry was envious of her in that aspect, but she did suspect Rose was born to be adapted to this undesirable weather. Then again, whenever Rose made the time to visit Winry at winter break, she knew she couldn't really survive the cold.

Winry wasn't aware she had been studying Rose for a good five minutes until she had collided unexpectedly with another human being.

Her grip on Rose had loosened considerably as she fell on her behind, more surprised than anything else. But Winry did wince as s shot of pain hurried down her spinal cord. Why did it have to hurt like hell when she fell on her ass? She was never the type of girl to be clumsy; she always paid attention to her surroundings. Obviously, she had to contradict herself there.

"Oi! Watch where you're going, will you?" An annoyed, masculine voice growled, causing Winry to look forward; almost in the same position as her, there was a boy, no doubt around her age of fifteen, dressed in a red sweatshirt and black jeans. She could have asked if he was hot in that strange get up. Only that his golden eyes – the almost same shade as his bright, sun-kissed hair – were staring at her angrily: demanding an apology.

_What a jerk,_ Winry thought, as he stood up on his two feet and wasn't going to bother helping her up. Apparently, having courteous manners were too much to ask for these days.

"I'm sorry, alright? You don't have to bite my head off," Winry exclaimed and it was at that point she found herself standing. Obviously, it was no thanks to that idiot… who appeared shorter than she assumed he was. Well no wonder he had a temper: he didn't even look like he surpassed five feet. A little smaller than her, Winry mused to herself.

"Whatever. I don't have time for this," the boy scoffed, flicking his braided hair behind his back, before walking the opposite direction with two hands in his pockets.

Winry almost could not believe his behaviour, and her pride as a little too eager to retaliate with an insult. "Thanks for the consideration." She clearly knew not everyone in the world was nice and caring, but she could have expected more from this shrimp. From what Winry could tell, he was rude, arrogant and possibly selfish: not at all the concerned type.

Winry never heard a response, thus, she assumed he went on his merry way. She took a deep breath in. He shouldn't be worth it, so why was she continuing to think about him? But whatever the case, she had her first impressions and this wasn't exactly a good experience to look back on. She just had to keep moving forward; there was absolutely no way this day could have gotten any worse. She would honestly head back to JC Penney to do more shopping than deal with a case like this. But beggars couldn't be choosers.

"Winry? Are you okay? What happened?" Rose questioned, with a very concerned expression, which made Winry snort.

Dusting off the dirt on her black skirt, she replied. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just ran into somebody."

"Are you still up to the movie?"

"Yeah. I just need the distraction," Winry smile, hoping that Rose would ask no further questions.

_He's not worth talking about_, Winry reminded herself. But if anything was worth consoling her for, it wasn't like she'd meet that asshole again.


	2. Love Life Interrupted

**Thank you goes out to the one person who reviewed. ;) Well, I hope you guys like this chapter; it took me a long time to write this one out.**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 2: Love Life Interrupted**

Winry never thought she was missing anything in her life: all in all, she was pretty happy with the friends she had and the constant presence of her grandmother in her life. But it was a recent discussion with Rose that did make her mind wander again and it concerned her so called love life.

Sipping on an ice cold soda, she sighed softly, as Rose continued to chatter on about how she'll get Winry introduced to some of the guys in Liore. Rose, for sure, was thoughtful enough in that department. Boys were the least likely problem Winry would ever have, but if anything, it didn't stop her from dreaming about the kind of guy she would go for.

Her idea of a Prince Charming was kind of incongruous than any other girl. It would help if she found a good looking guy, but to Winry, she knew she sounded shallow; there was for more to a man than just looks. If only Rose would get with the program: her way of thinking was different. According to Rose, she'd ask out a handsome boy and then she'd learn more about him. In Winry's point of view, all she'd do, really, was develop a friendship. Love never instantly arrived the minute you meet someone, and it wouldn't help much at all if one watched a Disney movie. Winry would like a guy who's smart and funny and above all: who could treat people with respect. She wasn't going to back down from her expectations: she was who she was.

"It's so nice out. Am I right?" Rose chirped cheerfully, leaning back against one of her many lawn chairs. She stretched, a puff of breath leaving her lips, while Winry watched with skepticism. Sometimes she wondered what Rose did in her spare time apart from sun tanning.

"Yeah," Winry deadpanned, before taking another short sip of her Sprite. By nice day, Rose really meant a scorcher. In fact, it was just as bad as yesterday, and one had to take into account there was humidity. Summer in Liore was without a doubt Winry's enemy, if not arch-rival.

"I take it you want a bucket of ice cold water?" Rose offered.

That actually did sound tempting… it would probably be worth it. But still. "I'll just stick to the kiddie pool, thanks." How could Winry feel so disgusting in her simple opaque bathing suit? Easy: because no matter what she'd do, she would still sweat her bucket off.

"I guess you're right about that."

"I don't think I'm built for this," Winry moaned, crossing her legs.

Rose couldn't help but laugh. "You've only been here for a day. It can't be that bad."

Winry said nothing, but did take a few seconds to think about what Rose said. Yeah, she got here yesterday morning from the longest train ride she ever had in her life. But which would she rather complain about? The train had air conditioning, a no brainer choice for Winry: the heat could just about kill any tourist. Ad it had only been a day since Winry and Rose had gone to the movie theatre, in hopes of watching a Disney movie – which Rose did enjoy immensely. Winry, however, couldn't get into it.

She just had to reflect upon the moment when she bumped into that boy. It wasn't as embarrassing as it was annoying. But sadly enough, meeting him had to be the most interesting experience since she arrived here the previous morning. If Winry had to guess, she did admit she liked his eye colour; she never saw many people sporting that kind of genetic trait. In reality though, it wasn't like Winry would ever admit that out loud to anyone. It wasn't like she had a crush on the guy.

"Winry?"

"Huh?"

Rose gave her an exasperated look. "Don't huh me. I can't believe you're zoning out on me again. What's wrong?"

"I just bumped into a guy yesterday. No big deal." Winry insisted.

Rose smiled, a clever look written on her face. "Was he cute?"

Cute was definitely an overstatement, but Winry wasn't planning on telling Rose that. "Doesn't matter. He's a jerk. Not my type."

Rose let out an exasperated sigh. "I take it there's no chance you'll give me his name at least?"

Winry shrugged. "He was so rude, he didn't bother introducing himself," she answered with a flat, bitter tone.

"Well, in any case, I'm sure you'll find someone," Rose answered, giving her friend a side hug as a means of comfort and support.

Would she though? What kind of guy would find someone like Winry interesting? Winry wasn't a cheerleader with a fancy car or a prep kid with nice clothes. She was a middle class engineer who came from a family of doctors, not that Winry would be ashamed of that. If Winry would capture the attention of a guy, she would be classified as a little sister right off the bat. Which was probably why she didn't really get along with most other girls in school. She still felt that she was stuck in the middle.

Winry knew Rose as genuinely trying to help her. She appreciated it that much. If it was any consolation, Rose wouldn't let her give up on finding Mr. Right; at least Rose actually cared.

"What about you? Where's your Prince Charming?"

Rose scratched her head, her eyes flickering elsewhere, appearing to be a little embarrassed. "About that…"

"Did you break it off?" Surprisingly, Rose had a good boyfriend named Alphonse – whom Winry may have met a couple times – and they had been together for a couple years. That is, what Rose told her at least.

"We broke up a couple months ago. But we're still good friends," Rose smiled, pretty much on the border of insisting based on her tone.

Winry widened her eyes in complete shock, almost coughing out the drink she was sipping on. "Why wasn't I aware of this?"

"I didn't want to worry you. Plus, you were busy with school and work, weren't you?" Rose had a lot of redeeming qualities, but it was just like her to help other people and not expect anything in return. This, in turn, did make Winry feel bad; here she was, complaining about this jerk she met and never once though to talk to Rose about her own relationship.

"But forget about that. The important thing is, I have a surprise for you."

**:3 :3 :3**

"What the hell is this?"

"It's called a party, Winry."

"I know that."

What Winry couldn't believe was the fact that Rose had led her to a party – which was currently taking place at some dude's house.

Honest to God, parties were not her cup of tea. In her opinion, there was nothing appealing about it. The amount of alcohol people consume, the flashing lights, people grinding against each other wantonly, and trash littered everywhere you'd walk. The smell of sweat and beer did not help matters either, which kind of made Winry want to barf. It was disgusting, to say the least.

How could Winry be friends with someone who tolerated partying? And this was the same girl who went to church on Sundays.

"Winry, when was the last time you had some fun?"

Winry threw a cold, unamused glare Rose's way, crossing her arms, feeling uncomfortable. "Last time I checked, parties do not qualify as fun."

It was common sense to know that it was inevitable that dumb, and possibly tragic, acts were always a result of these so called parties. Winry remembered clearly on the news at some point, some drunk guy had his whole hand blown to smithereens because he was playing with fireworks. Not only were there stupid stuff like that, but there was also a chance she could be fooling around with some guy – which definitely would never happen on her watch.

Maybe Rose wasn't as innocent as Winry was led to believe.

Winry could have asked Rose if this party was a smart idea in the first place. Only, some guy had somewhat aggressively bumped into her, causing her to fall on her knees. Winry's cheeks turned red in embarrassment and annoyance, as the culprit didn't bother to apologize. It would have been her luck if it was that pipsqueak she met earlier, but it wasn't.

"I haven't seen your pretty face here before…"

_Damn it, Rose, where the hell did you go?_ Winry thought, bitterly, as she slowly stood up on both legs.

"I'm not from around here," Winry stated blankly, dusting off the dirt on her jeans. It was a good thing she decided to wear them tonight after all, granted Winry had no idea what Rose's surprise was. Which reminded her to kill her the second she showed her face here again.

Honest to God, Winry had no patience in dealing with creeps.

"The name's Greed. What about yours?" Winry cringed; was this guy flirting with her? And did he always wear sunglasses indoors? If she did know better, he was most likely a pimp; dressed in dark jeans, black leather vest with a collar of white fur around it and she could even make out a tattoo on his arm. She prayed he wasn't from any gangs…

"Cleopatra," Winry said drearily, but not after mingling in to the crowd in an attempt to find her best friend.

She was here for only twenty or so minutes and she already felt like leaving.

She rubbed her temples, already feeling that she was about to receive a headache, if not a migraine. An obnoxious one at that. Did the music have to be so loud?

"I like that name. Sounds exotic." Winry could feel, or rather, tell that he was right behind her, probably intent on getting into her pants.

"Leave me alone, please," Winry insisted, not once turning around to face her follower for lack of a better term.

This really could not be the best day of her life: seeing that she was inevitably forced to confront a possible stalker who sexually harassed young girls for a living. In these types of situations, there was no doubt she could handle herself well, but the fact is, she was plainly annoyed. And before she knew it, she was basically shoved against a wall, somewhere near a closet or a bathroom.

"Come on, sweetheart. Don't you wanna have a good time?" Winry tensed, blue eyes widening as the man blatantly convinced to tease her. She cringed, recognizing the scent of alcohol in his breath. Of course… this explained everything, even the hand that was trailing the skin underneath her shirt.

"Does it look like she wants a good time?"

Both Winry and the unwanted guest turned to face the direction of which the voice interrupted them.

In all honesty, Winry just knew she had the worst luck imaginable. Out of all the encounters with unwanted guests, she didn't have to be a genius to pick one out, which included the jackass who she bumped into the other day. And now here he was, leaning against a doorway, with a scowl on his lips and his eyes narrowed. Wiry could not help but think he appeared handsome in a plain black tank top and jeans. But if Winry were to ask herself why she approved of his good looks, including his muscles, she figured it was because she kind of appreciated him interrupting. Kind of being the operative words…

"Stay out of this, shrimp. This is none of your business."

Winry raised an eyebrow, partly astonished toward the other boy's reaction: noting the annoyance shining in his golden eyes. Winry quickly corrected herself. He wasn't annoyed – he was downright pissed.

"Who the hell are you calling a shrimp?"

The man who proclaimed himself as Greed seemed to forget Winry's existence altogether. He practically stomped his way over toward the blonde 'shrimp'. Winry released a short breath, somewhat relieved that his attentions weren't focused on her anymore. She hoped so anyway.

"My bad, shrimp."

And who knew how much time passed before Winry witnessed the next scene with a dropped jaw and surprised expression; the boy in the black tank top punched Greed right in the face, with no hesitation whatsoever. It spooked her out a little bit because she didn't presume to think he was violent. It was one thing that he had a temper, but could he fight like a man?

But at least he was fighting for her honour.

Because she was dazing off for so long, much to Winry's annoyance, she had failed to notice she was frozen still, which let her partly in the way of getting demolished. In retrospect, Winry knew she should have moved, yet she failed to use her common sense when she looked straight toward her blonde savior. As a result, it shocked her nonetheless when she found herself hunched over on the ground. Pain shot through her arms and legs. From the corner of her eyes, she noticed Greed tumbling on the other side, until he dropped unto his stomach, appearing unconscious. It also helped that he was completely silent…

"You okay?" Winry looked upwards to see a pair of amber eyes staring into her baby blue hues. But that wasn't the best part. The notion of him holding a hand out for her to take was unanticipated.

Winry briefly wondered if he recognized her – surely he wouldn't dare to help her, seeing their first meeting went horrible.

"Uh, yeah," Winry replied quietly, deciding to shake away her thoughts for the time being and accepted the boy's offered hand.

The first thing she noticed when she took his hand was that he had a firm but gentle grip. It was definitely a shock to her; how could he be so infuriating one moment and have a calm demeanor the next? Winry certainly did not understand but she knew to never judge a book by its cover for now on. Then, there were the sparks, at least, of which Winry interpreted them as. Why she was given a rush, she had no idea. It shouldn't be that important to acknowledge.

"Thank you."

He scoffed. "Nothing to thank me for. He was pissing me off anyway."

Winry kind of got where he was coming from, but she expected that sort of response. "But still. Thanks."

For a moment, he appeared surprised that someone would genuinely show their gratitude, even if he didn't have any intention of helping them in the first place. "Just be careful next time, will you? I won't always be around to save you."

Ok, maybe he wasn't the nicest guy in the entire world.

Winry blinked, before finding herself offended by his comment as well as his tone of voice. "I'm sorry. It's not my fault guys follow me around all the time. It wasn't like I asked for it."

"You don't like parties?"

Winry shook her head. "No. I was trying to find my friend Rose. She's the one who decided to take me to this stupid party in the first place." Some night this turned out to be. She was more or less expecting a movie night, consisting of 'chick flicks' that Rose loved and Winry despised. I all honesty, she would – for the first time in her life – watch Magic Mike or The Notebook. Granted Magic Mike wasn't a chick flick, but that wasn't the point.

"You're friends with Rose?" A flash of recognition hit his eyes.

"For years. We live in different towns, but that never stopped her from visiting me in Risembool and now I just had to return the favour."

The boy nodded firmly. "That explains it."

Winry furrowed her eyebrows. "How do you know her?"

When this was all over, Wiry knew she was going to interrogate her friend, if she didn't kill her first. Seriously though, out of all people she knew, she just had to be buddies with this guy?

"She used to date my brother," he shrugged nonchalantly, as if it were no big deal. "Before that though, we were childhood friends."

Yep, Rose definitely had explaining to do. But it wasn't like she was going to make a big deal about it now.

However, she did feel that introductions were in order. "I'm Winry." She cleared her throat, as she held out her right hand for him to shake.

"Edward," the boy said simply, cautiously shaking her hand. There they were again: the sparks… not that they should mean anything. Why would they?


	3. The Old Escort-Girl-Home Cliche

**This chapter took me so freaking long to write. Ugh. But I hope you guys will enjoy it! So will you pretty please tell me what you thought of it? Shameless begging, I know. XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 3: The Old Escort-Girl-Home Cliché**

"So Edward," Winry cleared her throat, testing out his name for the first time. She felt that she really liked it, as well as just saying his name – sounded like spreading warm butter on toast… But it was not as if she would admit it aloud. Especially not to Rose.

"How's… how's the search for your brother going?" Mentally, Winry cringed, pretty much intending on eating herself up over her lack of ability to make conversation. Seriously – was this the best she could do in this situation? Mind you, there were hardly any guys her own age to talk to back hoe, so being socially awkward was a good excuse.

Edward shrugged, as he swiftly moved to lean against the wall across from her. "Honestly, I would have found him by now. He probably left." His golden eyes glanced toward Winry, briefly looking up and down – if Winry didn't know any better, she'd assume he was checking her out. She definitely would feel uncomfortable in every single aspect if that were the case. "Haven't I seen you around before?"

Winry had come to several conclusions about Edward after meeting him. First, there was a slight possibility of him having serious mental memory problems (although amnesia would be an overstatement). Second, he might have the intention of pissing her off regardless whether or not he remembered her. If someone else made a complete fool of themselves, they might even welcome the chance of being forgotten. But definitely not Winry. Third conclusion – he might just use that one liner to attrat every kind of girl he meets; really, if this were true, that would have been the worst attempt she had ever witnessed.

"I don't think so." It technically wasn't a lie, right? Difference is, they actually met at the theatre, but then again, it wasn't like Winry would remind him of that.

"Oh wait a second; you're the one who bumped into me the other day." Ok, so much for the theory of him pathetically attempting to hit on her. And of course he wasn't going to take responsibility for saying that he was the actual one who didn't look where he was going.

"Yeah," Winry deadpanned, crossing her arms in her usual fashion.

"Don't tell me you still have a grudge," Edward snorted, narrowing his eyes a little bit. If he was trying to look intimidating, it would have worked on any other girl, except for Winry. He seemed more like a puppy than a ferocious guard dog in her opinion. If it was any comfort to Winry though, his tone of voice did somewhat lose a bit of his anger. Which was good though, because if it weren't for that, then she could have suspected that he had anger management issues. Well, from what she remembered earlier, he didn't like being called short…

"Not at all," Winry replied.

"You were kind of uptight to me."

"So you do remember me."

"It's kind of hard to forget someone like you." She could either take that as a compliment or an insult. Now, Winry could assume what his intentions were. She could assume he thought she was memorable in a good way: sadly, she figured she was kind of pretty to capture any guy's attention.

"Well, as nice as it is talking to you, I think I'm going to head back home." To be blunt, she hadn't even been here very long. Not even an hour. But she was looking for an excuse to leave, she could have said she'd go looking for Rose, but she got ahead of herself sometimes. Not to mention she knew she wouldn't be able to find her, even if Winry did decide to spend the rest of the night doing so. She could have been painting her toenails and having much more fun than this so called 'party'. She didn't want to see anyone chug down ten beers thank you very much. Ok, so maybe she did sound like she was uptight.

"How far?"

Winry blinked. "Not too far from here actually. Just a fifteen minute walk."

"At least let me walk you back. If anything happens to you, Rose would never let me live it down."

"You want to walk me back…"

"Didn't you just say you'd rather leave than stay here?"

Winry knew a kind offer when she heard one. She attempted not to look so surprised, but at the same time, she couldn't ignore the tiny flutter of a heartbeat against her chest. It wasn't every day that a guy would offer to walk her home without any disgusting intentions in mind. "I guess."

"Then c'mon, let's go."

And that flutter just had to grow exponentially when she saw him smirk in response; he was kind of handsome when he did that. Why use denying it now?

**:3 :3 :3**

"Where'd you say you're from again?"

Needless to say, Winry was kind of hoping their awkward conversations would just disappear in the wind. She really despised long silences and she sort of hoped Edward did not have any social awkwardness in his personality. But who was she to judge? Winry was from a simple country background which severely lacked in company of her own age. As much as she loved the quiet aura of her hometown, she always found herself daydreaming about expanding her life choices. Maye living in Liore or even Central City wouldn't be that bad.

"Risembool," Winry answered shortly. She could have glared in his direction, but it wouldn't change anything. So apparently Edward proved her point well: he just couldn't remember anything about her for very long. And this was coming from the guy who said it would be hard to forget someone like her.

"What the hell's your problem?"

For the past ten minutes, they had been walking together – sticking closely to the dimmed streetlights, Winry sort of gave up on any kind of discussion with him. Perhaps it was because she was just plain tired or the fact that Rose had forced her to go to that party against her will. She would have assumed having Edward walking her home would calm her down. It only worked partially. It was a good thing that she was getting her fresh air now at least. She had to admit that the cold air at night in this city countered the horrible heat during the day just beautifully. But not even the gorgeous city lights nearby and the chirping of crickets could fully engage her into sight-seeing.

"I'm sorry. It's nothing."

Edward, who had both his hands in his pockets, gazed at her for a moment or two before looking away. From the corner of her eye, she noted that from the uncomfortable expression he had, he had no idea how to respond. Maybe he just had no experience with girls. Of course, Winry was willing to play her cards on that assumption.

"Do you really still hate me from before?"

"I don't. But… what were you even doing there in the first place?" Winry was in fact shocked that he would think that: just because he bumped into her that time, it didn't mean she held a grudge against him for eternity. Winry would once again like to think Edward was used to getting on someone's bad side.

"Errands. Not that they concern you." And now he was growing back into the rude, obnoxious asshole when they first met. "What were you doing? Bumping into people on a continuous basis?" A rude retort was resting on the tip of her tongue, but when Winry saw a mischievous gleam in his eyes, she thought twice before answering.

"Ha, ha," Winry rolled her eyes in exasperation, crossing her petite arms. "I'll have you know Rose wanted to go see Tangled." What could she say? Disney movies were Rose's favourite.

"Please tell me you're joking."

"What's wrong with Disney movies?" Granted, she wasn't as obsessed with them as Rose was, but they were a large part of her childhood, before her parents passed away…

"Does she actually buy into the finding true love bits?" Okay, so now this was going to be one of those philosophical debates about romance. Not that Winry would have much of a problem with it.

"Not all Disney movies deal with true love," Winry pointed out as chipper as she possibly could. "And even so, Rose does believe she'll find the right guy someday."

"If you say so," Edward shrugged his shoulders.

Winry looked at him suspiciously. "What kind of movies are you interested in then? If Disney's too girly and romantic for you, there's got to be something else you prefer."

Edward returned her gaze. "You don't seem that crazy about Disney either." Sure enough, it looked like he knew her better than what she originally assumed. Or maybe it was because she was easy to read. But Edward, in her perspective, was an enigma. What she couldn't give to reads his mind, and her conclusion was this: he was mysterious, guarded and extremely short tempered (no pun intended) against strangers. It seemed clear to her that he didn't hand out trust easily.

"I stopped watching after my parents died," Winry answered, tucking loose strays of blonde hair behind her ear. "But since then, I just watched comedies and you can't go wrong with Harry Potter."

"I'm sorry."

"About what? My parents? Don't worry about it. It was a long time ago." From the glance she was receiving from the boy next to her, it was almost as if he was giving her sympathy; almost as if he knew what it felt like to be her… to lose someone important.

"So you said you were from Risembool. I think Rose talked about you a couple of times."

Thank the lord for the change in subject… Winry didn't know if she could handle another uncomfortable silence. But her anger towards Rose was now at an all-time high; she didn't peg Rose as a gossip, but did she not have anything better than talk about her to her friends here? Especially since this was Edward, of all people?

"Good things, I hope."

"She might have told me some stories…"

Winry groaned, as she felt her face turn a dark shade of crimson. Edward was probably the only person that she would truly have a chance of befriending and now that she knew that Rose and him were talking about her behind her back… she didn't know what to think. Well, she supposed, as long as she didn't try hooking the two of them up, things wouldn't be so bad, really.

"She is so dead, I swear."

"Considering that she's the one that told me that I could find Alphonse there, I get prosecution."

Winry snorted in amusement, but nonetheless, she decided to humour him. "Okay, fair enough."

"Is this it up here?" Edward pointed toward the house on the left, which was only about a few meters away. The dead give-away though, was the number on the door – and not to mention the faded paint. Yep, that was the house. Winry, not for the first time, would always try to convince Rose to do several things; first of all, repaint – which Rose said she would never do because she liked that 'vintage' look. This was the initial conversation that Winry would initiate the minute she came every summer. Second, she tried to convince Rose to get an actual car: the 'Smart' car that she had wouldn't ever suffice to be taken on for trips. But Rose counterpointed that she loved the design and how she wanted it in zebra stripes. Therefore, that argument proved to be the least effective. The third and final argument Winry lost against her friend had something to do with the tall suit of armour that rested against the garage. **(1) **Winry's opinion of it was not exactly positive – she more or less thought that it was creepy, but Rose refused to get rid of it. She didn't even know where the hell she got it from, but needless to say, it wasn't something that Rose would get rid of ever. But at least she didn't have any garden gnomes.

"Yeah, this is it."

"The suit of armour's a nice touch," Edward commented, as the two of them stepped right up into the driveway.

Winry pursed her lips. "I really don't understand why people think it's cool. If I wanted someone to guard me at night, I'd just have them in the guest room."

Edward didn't appear to believe her, judging from the look that was cast her way. "Like that doesn't sound frightening," he remarked sarcastically.

Winry didn't bother to acknowledge that with a response, seeing that she was standing near the front door. "Well," She cleared her throat, "Thanks for walking me home," she smiled gratefully.

Edward, from what she could tell, tried to look casual. "It's no problem." If Winry didn't know any better, he was slightly turning red, as he looked away. But then again, Winry could have been imagining things.

"I had a good time tonight. I really liked talking with you." Que Winry's turn to blush like a pretty red tomato. It wasn't like she could shut up when she's nervous and/or tired.

"Right. Well… I'll see you around."

That could have escalated into an extremely awkward moment, but Winry was just as glad that he went bolting off. Maybe not bolting, but he was walking pretty quickly. Nonetheless, she didn't enter her friend's household until she couldn't see Edward anymore.

As much as she would have wanted to deny it, she couldn't help but want to see him again.

**:3 :3 :3**

**1: What was really hilarious was that when I walked down the street one day, I saw someone had a suit of armour leaning against their garage. I was like: SINCE WHEN DOES ALPHONSE WORK AS A GUARD! LOL! Anyway, that's my cool story for the day.**


	4. Dreaming of the Unthinkable

**Happy New Year guys! I hope you'll forgive me for the late update. LOL. And may you pretty, pretty please leave some reviews? :3 (insert kawaii puppy-dog eyes)**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 4: Dreaming of the Unthinkable**

It was around two a.m. and Winry still could not sleep. What could she say though: she had a lot on her mind. Believe it or not, maiming Rose when she got back was not even on the list of things she thought about. Out of all the people she was thinking of, it was Edward. Just Edward. And she didn't even know his last name. Whoever would have thought she'd be hung up on him? Most people would say he's rude for a little pipsqueak, but Winry was starting to have different thoughts. Winry tried telling herself she wasn't falling for him, seeing that she hardly knew the guy. But she found out deep within her heart that she wanted to see him again. So it only took two cups of warm milk and an hour's worth of TV to make her figure that out.

It also made her wonder if he had a girlfriend. Just as soon that thought popped into her mind, Winry quickly got rid of it. If anything, she was just overthinking it. If he had a girlfriend, he could have said so, right? He wouldn't be leading her on if he did. A part of her conscience did think her logic was a bit stretched and that she should look out; he could be a heartbreaker for all she knew.

Winry's entire world should not revolve around Edward. She knew that much. But she also pondered whether or not he was thinking about her too… ok, no. she wasn't going to go there.

Winry turned over unto her stomach, burying her face into her pillow. Apparently sleeping was out of the question, so what was she supposed to do now? Count nuts and bolts? Count sheep? It was becoming clear to her that her mind wouldn't be free form Edward's grasp. She just had to keep thinking about him.

Maybe she should get another glass of milk.

**:3 :3 :3**

_This was a dream, she figured. She knew it had to be – it was not exactly reality if she knew she was in Liore. But this place of clean, fresh air, the warm sun embracing her, the emerald hills in the distance and the azure lake sitting almost beneath her… This was not at all Liore; this country region consisted of a gentle breeze, the pleasant aroma of wild, lilac crocuses and bright dandelions, crickets chirping and the tall, golden prairie grass dancing along with the soft wind, also tickling Winry's bare legs. She had to admit that it was beautiful here; this may have been the most perfect spot for her to think, where she'd overlook the green hills surrounding the small lake. Though there were no trees to shield her from the sun, Winry didn't fear the danger._

_She was perfectly safe from anything she could possibly dream of. How long Winry was standing there for, she didn't know. Only that it felt nice to feel the wind caress her skin lightly, as a lover would do and that her feet – which were bare – were grounded to the Earth. She felt one with this place and she didn't want to leave just yet if Winry had a choice, she supposed she could stay here forever and never have a care in the world. This countryside reminded her a little bit of Risembool, which explained the nostalgia flooding her senses._

_Without any awareness, she started to walk forward, allowing the grass to tickle her calves._

"_Winry!" Just as she made her way forward, she heard someone calling out for her and just like that, her heart was leaping for joy._

_And there he was, sitting by the lake, dressed in a simple white shirt, black vest and red tie, complete with dark pants, was him: Edward. It just occurred to her that something was off – his appearance being the first clue. But a part of her truly didn't mind, whether Edward looked older or not, she liked his company. Winry also had to admire that smile though; it was like he would never do that with anyone else. The sound of liquid pouring into a glass snapped Winry out of her stupor; she then noticed that Edward was giving her a glass of wine, and she took it gratefully. She did admit it was weird to see him out of the blue like this. One minute Winry was going on a brisk walk and the next, he was expecting her to join him for a picnic. _

_It was definitely convenient. It also seemed too romantic if you asked her._

"_Aren't you going to sit down? Or are you just going to keep on gawking?" Winry blushed in embarrassment before she sat own on the pristine, white picnic blanket._

"_Still an asshole as always," Winry grumbled, as she took a large gulp of her wine. Even if it was a dream, which she was mostly certain it was the case, Winry could drink as much as she wanted. This could all turn out badly, yet things remained unchanged._

"_And you're still uptight as ever," Edward remarked, smirking arrogantly in her direction. "But you know how I feel about you anyway." A statement like that might have been ignored by anyone else, but to Winry, there seemed to be a hidden meaning. And she wasn't sure if she really wanted to know the true meaning of his words._

_Yep, this was a dream. No doubts about it now. _

"_What's wrong, Winry? You look upset."_

"_I'm not upset."_

"_Is something on your mind?"_

_He could definitely say that there is something on her mind… she didn't need him bugging her if she told him she was thinking about him. Why did he have to be on her mind?_

"_Nothing important, Edward," Winry replied slowly and unsurely. She was definitely unsure about really enjoying his company now if she couldn't figure out what she felt for him. It shouldn't be that hard to decode something like that. And she hadn't even been around for ten minutes._

"_Geesh. What did I do this time?"_

"_What?"_

"_I must have done something really bad if you're calling me Edward."_

"_You didn't…"_

_Edward moved closer, to breaking eye contact as he continued to muster a somewhat frustrated expression. "Sure you're feeling alright?" His right hand gently (and uncharacteristically for him, Winry might add) touched Winry's forehead. And her reaction? Winry felt as though she were on fire; his touch ignited the flame and judging by how warm her face was at that moment, anyone could guess she would spontaneously combust. It was because of him that Winry was overcome by mere anxiety. She didn't know what to do. One moment Winry was certainly positive Edward's an asshole with no consideration for people's feelings and the next, she admitted he was fun to be around. It didn't help that her heartbeat accelerated whenever she saw him._

"_I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be? I think I just had a little too much to drink." And she just had to laugh like a maniac… Was she sane or was she insane?_

"_Kiss me and we'll find out…" Winry briefly wondered what it would be like to feel her lips pressed against his; would Edward be a glorious kisser. Would he be passionate? This was a moment she was dreading for and looking forward to combined in one fluid emotion._

_Wait. What?_

**:3 :3 :3**

Waking up totally flustered would be the wrong choice of words to describe her emotions. Confusion would be a good term. Like, what the hell happened: what kind of dream was she living in? Or maybe was it okay for her to feel something for Edward which clearly extended beyond friendship? Or perhaps it was just physical attraction. Edward was so not her Prince Charming. Not the perfect one she was looking for anyway. She didn't even know him, so she just had to be attracted to his looks.

So what was Winry's current game plan? Honestly, she didn't have any idea if she wanted to continue this. If she wanted to, she could keep hanging out with him until she was certain what she wanted. Yeah, Winry supposed she could do that; it would be a test of sorts. If she passed, it meant that she wouldn't feel any nerves around him. But if she failed, it meant she'd need his companionship in more than one way. If she still felt breathtakingly nervous around him, she clearly liked him. And Winry didn't want to feel that; was she really ready for a relationship? If it were up to her, she'd just focus on her family's prosthetics business. But life was never that easy. She learned that the most heart wrenching way after the death of her parents.

She hadn't even been ten years old when they were killed. From what Winry could remember, her parents were called out to several places to help with the war effort. And by war effort, there was an organized (supposedly) religious rebellion against the Liore government. They had only come back from Ishval one summer day when they had to leave again. Winry knew by the looks of regret on their faces that they had to leave her again. And before she knew it, her grandmother told her that there had been an accident… apparently her mother and her father were collateral damage when the hospital they were assisting had blown to pieces.

It was funny how her world could be turned upside down after two weeks of waiting.

She supposed that it was because of that she grew further sheltered. Any friends she made at school slowly turned back on her. Winry never began to talk to anyone again until she hit her pre-teen years. Even then that was because her grandma really needed her help with the automail business. Since then though, life had never been the same. And she really couldn't believe that she had to tell Edward that she almost had no family left. It was no doubt thanks to the emotionally draining evening and not a real desire to trust him with the truth. If she kept telling herself that, then maybe she'd believe it one day.

Which led her to reflect back on this dream. If anything, it shouldn't mean anything. There she goes again, contradicting herself. She knew what she was going to do. All she had to do was act on it. Maybe she should just ask Rose for Edward's number…

Winry once again checked the alarm clock blinking next to her on the nightstand. 5:16 AM. Winry couldn't even stifle a yawn and it was at that point when Winry knew she was heading back into dream world. There was no way in heck she could stay awake for at least two more hours. She also would pray this time that she would not dream of any boys with golden eyes.

**:3 :3 :3**

As a result of Winry's lack of any real sleep, she ended up getting her butt out of bed at 10:59. It was mainly because her so called friend decided to wake her up and threaten her with no real breakfast until she did. But Winry did not promise getting dressed, so she just remained in her plaid Aeropostale shorts and a white tank top. And there was no way in hell that she was going to brush her hair either, so it could remain a bird's nest for all eternity.

"You're looking awfully chipper today," Rose greeted with a plastered smile on her face, just as Winry walked into the kitchen with slumped posture.

Winry could have retorted the exact same thing, noting how Rose looked perfect as always; wearing an ivory dress, a pair of black flats and even her hair was brushed perfectly. Not to mention how she was joyful; apparently Rose was always a morning person. Winry, on the other hand, was not. She'd spend how many all-nighters to repair someone's automail leg, so sleep was pretty much inconsequential to her. Winry was never happy whenever she woke up and this was no different from any other day.

Winry decided not to pay any attention to Rose for the moment, clearly showing her that she was still mad about the little 'surprise' from last night. So she basically skipped straight for the pancakes, which Rose most likely made out of good will. It's going to take more than just pancakes to earn her trust back. Ok, judging from the loud rumble of her stomach, she forgave her.

"You know it's customary to say good morning back."

Winry threw an annoyed glare toward her friend, who was still smiling pleasantly, as she sipped her coffee. "Yeah well, not everyone can have a good one."

"I take it that last night didn't go as planned."

"No. I'd rather have stayed here than go out for a keg party."

Rose bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I just thought I'd introduce you to some of my friends." As always, Rose always meant well, but sometimes wasn't perfect on keeping her promises.

Winry finished scooping up two golden brown pancakes unto her plate before sitting opposite from Rose. "I met one of your friends last night actually."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He said his name was Edward."

Rose squealed before Winry could even finish off her sentence. "Isn't he a treat to be around?"

"Need I remind you that this is the same guy who I bumped into two days ago?"

"Well, I can't apologize for him. But he's a good guy. Once you get to know him."

Good guy. That had to be the vaguest compliment that you could ever give somebody. "He did walk me back here last night. Considering that I couldn't find you." And it was not even Rose's business to know that Winry pretty much attracted the wrong sort of trouble. If it weren't for Edward, Winry wouldn't even know where she would have turned up. If anything, Winry wanted to know what kind of crowd Rose was hanging out with these days. But then again, it wasn't her party per se. So just about anyone could come and crash it.

"I'm sorry for that. Really."

Winry shrugged. "It's okay. I'm over it. But Edward told me that he was looking for you. Said something about his brother?"

Rose pursed her lips, right before gulping down the rest of her morning caffeine. "Alphonse…"

Winry blinked, noting the sorrow shining through her friend's dark eyes. "I'm sorry if I brought that up." She always tried to steer clear from the subject of Alphonse. She knew how much Rose liked him and for their relationship to burn out, Winry couldn't understand what she was going through. If she didn't know any better though, Winry would say that she still liked him.

Rose shook her head. "It's fine. I keep thinking about him all the time. I wonder if I'm really over him." Winry never did get the reason why the two of them broke up. And why should she even be told the reason? It was Rose's concern about who knew.

"It's funny. I always thought that we would be together until we graduate. But… it looks like it wasn't meant to be."

Any feelings of annoyance or anger Winry felt toward Rose vanished completely. It made sense why Rose wanted to go out. It made sense why she would spend most of the night somewhere else. She wanted to forget about him and she was desperate to try and do everything she could to make sure she could move on.

"You're probably wondering why I went to that party, huh?"

"Rose…"

"I was being reckless. I just… it's been two months and I still don't think I can handle going out and seeing him, you know?"

"Weren't you two friends?"

"Yeah. We still hung out on occasion, but sometimes I still feel that things should have been different."

"I might not know the whole situation, but from what Edward told me, I'm guessing that he's worried about you."

Winry had to admit that she was not prepared for a serious conversation in the morning. But knowing that Rose had kept most of this a secret surprised her. She wasn't mad that she was keeping this from her, but she was nonetheless relieved that Rose did trust her. She had only been here for like two or three days and already the truth was spilling out.

Rose smiled. "I know they are. But I know they can find me at church. I still go every Sunday you know."

"That's good. I'd have smacked you if you stopped going." Winry herself wasn't religious by any stretch of the imagination, but it was more or less something she had tolerated for her friend's sake.

She knew how much of a tough life Rose had too. The fact of the matter was, her parents also died when she was young. But Rose did manage to get by; Winry's family took her in for the summer whenever Rose's aunt and uncle would allow it. She was also lucky enough to have family: which was more than what anyone could say about some people in the world. It was during that time when she started going to church more and at first Winry assumed it was because she needed comfort that couldn't be provided by anyone else.

Sometimes, Winry wished that she had countless faith in something. It was never a bad thing to dream of the unthinkable, something unattainable.

"You don't happen to have Edward's number do you?"

"What's this? Are you in love with him?"

"No! I just… that's completely ridiculous."

"Well, you're lucky."

"Why?"

"Because he might have called me and he said he was coming over?"


	5. Awkward Beginnings

**Have I ever told you readers/reviewers that you're the best and I love you so much? If I did, I'm telling you again. LOL. Sorry it took so long, but what can I say? I've just been getting into The Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings series again (I never read the books; just watched the movies) and that took my attention away from other things… **

**Tangled**

**Chapter 5: Awkward Beginnings**

"He's coming over? Why is he coming over?" Regardless of what Rose explained to her, it seemed a little too convenient that Edward (whatever his last name was) happened to want to pay them a visit. Would Winry say she's angry? She would dare not go that far. She was more or less worried over her heartbeat, which kept ricocheting against her chest. She noted to herself that shouldn't be normal. Nothing in her life was ever normal these days.

"Formal introductions? You yourself said you didn't have his number," Rose smiled cheerfully and innocently enough. Which she didn't even have to do, knowing that she probably set this up from the start. But what was the point of being mad at her? Rose was just too cute to hate; which was why Winry found herself forgiving her entirely. Well, maybe not, considering she was still in her pajamas and probably looked like death.

"You can at least tell me when he'll show up."

As anyone could tell at this point, Winry honestly wouldn't know how she'd feel if Edward saw her in this state. If she didn't die of embarrassment first, she would most likely fall into a coma and wake up twenty years into the future. After all, did she look appealing? Edward would probably insult her for walking around in next to nothing or he could probably pass out seeing her. Regardless if she was aesthetically attractive or not.

"A couple of minutes at least. But please don't hate me. He said he wants to be starting right with you." Something told Winry that Rose was playing a dangerous power game. In her mind, she was living out a fantasy of portraying Cupid within the world of Mission Impossible. That thought sounded more rational in Winry's mind, but it now kind of sounded stupid nonetheless.

And Rose just had to use the puppy eyes. The power to resist them seemed pretty unlikely now. This was her number one weakness, which should be punished, if one were to study how things didn't turn out well in the end.

"Will you at least give me a chance to change?" Winry mumbled, her face dropping into an even more foul appearance; she already knew she looked like crap, so why bother? She sighed sharply as she marched back to the guest bedroom with a proud stature. And she didn't even notice the sparkle in Rose's eyes when she left, but this wasn't ever likely to mean anything.

Winry tried so hard not to let her giddiness how to Rose. She couldn't exactly deny it anymore. Yes, she was excited to see Edward again. Even if it was under these circumstances. Why else would she feel nervous from the bottom of her heart as well as the fact that her heart itself was bouncing around in her chest in a hyper fashion? Winry hoped this was not obsession. If it was a crush, her mind argued, Winry wouldn't mind. But it had to be a crush. She was dreaming about him as of recently and thinking about him almost nonstop during the day…

Okay, it was only logical to let it play out as a crush. No longer was she actually confused about her feelings anymore. In a way, it felt empowering. Now that she knew what she felt for Edward, no way would she be stubborn about it anymore. Lucy knew she had to be doing the right thing.

Ok. Great. Now that cluttered mess was over and done with, now Winry could figure out just what to wear.

As she rushed rummaging through her drawers, she half-heartedly rejected several options of clothing out loud. Normally she never talked to herself, but if one considered the circumstances. It would be considered understandable. But she knew that Rose would be pissed if she wore overalls or ripped and tattered jeans, so she had to find something nice.

"Camouflage pant? Hmm," Winry remarked to herself, tossing them aside carelessly. She was not interested in cosplaying as an army sergeant today, so maybe she could locate something classier. But it wasn't like the two of them were going on a date; why was Winry getting ahead of herself? At that thought, she randomly chose a light pink pair of shorts and a blank tank top: this should seem simple enough without declaring herself a kid needing attention.

Oh who was she kidding? She felt like she was strapped in a straitjacket and left to die on a sinking ship.

And maybe she shouldn't watch any more Titanic with Rose for now on.

**:3 :3 :3**

"You took forever to change," Rose commented, slipping in a fake yawn at the end of her sentence. But Winry didn't particularly care at the moment: all she noticed when she sped-walked into the room was Edward (also noting the ricocheting heartbeat) – in all his handsome glory in a tank top and sweatpants, sitting across from her. Looking extremely bored.

"Dress to impress much?" Again, Winry barely registered what she said, as she was basically ogling his entire clean-cut and extremely handsome form. Rose basically had to cough, albeit loudly, to get her attention. A more embarrassing moment than the time Rose caught Winry watching a South Korean romantic drama last summer. In nothing but her gray boy shorts and mustard-stained flannel top. Needless to say, Winry had more guilty pleasures than anyone can count.

"Y0u know, Mr. Edward "I don't care for looking at girls" Elric, I'd say you're in love." That statement successfully pulled both Winry and Edward out of their respective trances. Thankfully enough, Winry was glad to know what Edward's last name was (and it was horrible thinking she never bothered asking him before) as well as the fact that she was not the only one turning red in the face. And he totally appeared kind of adorable whilst doing it, in her opinion.

"You're crazy," Edward retorted defensively, resting his right cheek against his hand, looking neither in Rose's or Winry's direction.

"But she looks nice, don't you think?" Winry woud have paid more attention to her frantic heartbeat if not for the amusing sight of Edward's cheeks burning crimson, a darker shade than from before.

"So how's it going?" Winry might as well shift the topic of discussion to something a little less awkward. As well as to evade hearing Edward's opinion on her outfit: she would may as well admit she was scared and cowardly. His opinions of her shouldn't mater, but at the same time, Winry secretly hoped they were positive.

Luckily for her, the relieved look in his honey eyes told her how happy (well, maybe not overly so) that Winry would not so much care as to hear his thoughts. Damn: she could stare into his eyes all day…. She really, truly could not mean to do it this time.

"Fine. Just tired." Man of few words today, Winry noted.

"What happened? Stay up all night playing Call of Duty?" Edward merely rolled his eyes at her remark and didn't dignify it with a response as Winry prayed for.

Rose grinned from ear to ear. "He was talking about you last night."

Winry blinked, almost on the borderline of shocked as if she had just been electrocuted. She honestly wasn't expecting that kind of a response. But her heart skipped a beat once again and a flutter of ecstasy flowed through her veins: it was the simple things in life that made her so happy and in this case, Edward actually talking about her to Rose. Rose may very well be the type to withdraw information from her until the last minute, but she wouldn't lie to her. Most of the time.

"Really? I always did suspect you liked my hair." Newfound confidence never failed to get her anywhere in life.

"Don't get too excited," Edward barked, "I just told her that you should just keep Rose on a leash." He rolled his eyes at the same time he shrugged his broad shoulders. Winry's eyes, which were shining with excitement, did lose some sparkle, but another part of her was expecting this kind of response.

"That is not what you said. You asked, or rather texted me, if she was seeing anybody."

Before Winry could directly answer her, Edward jumped in. "Only an incompetent bastard would be leaving a girl alone at a party okay? I just wanted to make sure."

Winry pursed her lips. "So I'm pretty sure I told you I'm single. But if I had a boyfriend, what would you have done?"

She noticed Rose slightly smirking in amusement out of the corner of her eye, but Winry was more dependent on her new blonde friend's answer.

"I'd have done the same thing to Greed. It wouldn't be right of me to leave things be." Edward may have sound heartless but Winry reasoned he was simply guarding himself. She supposed he was honourable in his own way.

Winry also noticed how long she had been standing, as her arm muscles were beginning to cramp. Therefore, she did what any logical person would do in this situation: attempt the half-moon pose you would learn in yoga classes. And man did it feel good… but as she was stretching her limbs, she was not at all aware the pair of golden eyes staring at her non-too subtly, given that her shirt was riding upwards, showing some skin.

"You are a hero, aren't you?" Winry flashed a smile, before taking a seat in between Rose and Edward.

"Hero. I'm no hero," he scoffed in reply.

"Well, you did help me out. Didn't you just say that you shouldn't let things like that go unpunished?"

"Edward just can't resist helping out a damsel in distress." Again, Rose kind of had to make things awkward, which would leave it up to Winry to attempt to converse calmly with Edward.

"You are single, right?" Rose's smile turned from a confident smirk to a flash of a brilliant, and knowing smile. This was yet another attempt to help Winry land her man (a phrase Winry herself would never use) and she wasn't happy about it.

"What were you up to today?" Winry inquired in a curious tone.

"Rose thought we should go to the movies."

"Either that or go to church."

"There is no way in hell I'm going there again."

"He's only saying that because he's atheist."

Winry sighed, completely at odds at the way this conversation was going. She swore these two were like cats and dogs; all they seem to enjoy doing was biting each other's head off.

"I take it she kept forcing you to go?"

Edward looked away from Rose, likely deciding a response was not worth dignifying. "That's one way of putting it. I'd rather be-"

"Yes, yes, you'd rather watch Pitch Perfect." Edward continued to ignore Rose, though it seemed he was that close to losing his temper. Winry had a way of reading people.

"I don't suppose you'd be interested in coming along?" What – was he just expecting her to stay around the house and do nothing?

"Sure. As long as it's Fast and Furious, I'm in." This was apparently the correct answer, seeing that Edward's gloomy appearance transitioned into a look of approval.

"That movie's been out for a while hasn't it?"

"Yeah, but who cares? I just watch for the cars. Man, what I wouldn't give to own any of them."

"Mech freak much?" Man, does he ever look handsome when he doesn't look angry all the time, Winry thought. She had a feeling that he probably never got to act so playful much.

"I just help my grandmother back home with prosthetics. I haven't actually worked on a car," Winry chuckled sheepishly, staring down at her lap in embarrassment.

And much to her surprise, he never started to insult her. "Is that where all those scars come from?"

"Beginner's misfortune. But I love doing it. There's nothing else I see myself doing." Great; she's so certain that he wants to hear all about her life, Winry mentally screamed at herself sarcastically. "What about you?"

"I'm still in school, but I help out around town, fixing whatever to make ends meet." Winry sensed this subject was sore for Edward, so she decided to change topics.

"I guess you're the car junkie?"

Edward chuckled. "Probably more than you. You seem more into the eye candy than the actual car."

Rose piped in with a solid agreement, "That may be true."

"That is so not true and you know it." And with that both Rose and Edward were roaring with laughter. "Maybe 20% of the time I'd indulge myself with some of that action, but I usually focus on other important things."

"You never did have a boyfriend did you?"

Winry turned red in the face, flushing with annoyance. "Shut up. Not my fault I love automail."

"That's probably why," Edward snickered, which resulted in Winry punching him none too gently on the shoulder. He was also aware of the cold glare she was sending his way.

"You are such an asshole."

"And you are tougher than you look."

"And you are both adorable together. Let's go to the movies!" Granted Rose was all for love, this was the first and probably only time she would display disgust. But Rose did not think she was trying too hard to set them up. All she really knew for sure at this point was how Edward and Winry would make such a great couple. In fact, she was positive they were soulmates but it wasn't as if Rose would say that to either of their faces. Well, Rose suspected Edward knew of her plan, but maybe deep down he appreciated what she was doing for him. She knew how hard of a life he went through, seeing that his mother died when he and his brother were young and their father took off not too long before that. Rose knew full-hand how Edward shielded his emotions and it worried her to the point that Edward needed someone in his life.

Not a friend, but a romantic companion. Sure, he was only fifteen (he wouldn't turn sixteen until the winter) but for some time now Rose noticed how he refused to attend any social gathering extending five people. But now that Winry was here for the summer, her presence was starting to change him. A good thing, really. Maybe she could be the one to help him open up, but could anyone tell the future?


	6. Fast and Furious

**You guys are breaking my heart! XD Maybe you could leave a review after this chapter? I'd very much appreciate it. **

**Tangled**

**Chapter 6: Fast and Furious**

Not to sound cheesy or anything, but Winry had to confess that her heart was beating way too fast and certainly far too furious. But she supposed that any reasonable teenage girl on a date with her future Prince Charming would feel the same way. Winry knew no words could describe how anxious or ecstatic she felt as she sat beside Edward within the dark confinement of the Liore Galaxy Cinemas.

But it was not an official date, Winry reminded herself, as her baby blue eyes were still glued on the movie screen. She was half tempted to bite her fingernails, but it was a long lost habit that panned out years ago. Her current reasoning was that Rose wanted to hang out, but a part of Winry assumed it was just an excuse for her to get closer to Edward.

From the corner of her eye, she peeked in Edward's direction; yes, he was sitting right next to her, appearing quite entertained by the action sequences performed by Dwayne Johnson onscreen. At least, she could see his eyes sparkling with amusement, but he wasn't smiling. So he was one of those guys, huh? The kind that were impossible to please.

Or maybe he's just one of those Rubix cubes, which in Winry's mind, were a bitch to solve. Maybe that was part of the appeal that she saw in him. So maybe he was just the typical tough guy with a mysterious persona and a touch of attitude.

They were only in about twenty minutes into the movie and Winry couldn't focus so much on it, sadly to say. And she already ate most of her popcorn. But if anyone asked her why she wasn't focused on it completely, she had a reasonable answer at the ready; it was because of the obnoxious air conditioning that was blasted on high throughout the entire theatre.

It was practically the arctic in here and frankly, Winry didn't appreciate it. Would she not give for some hot chocolate right now.

However, Winry could also use this to her advantage: she was freezing her tits off so she was in desperate need of some heat transfer. Thus, without thinking about the repercussions too much, Winry found herself latching unto Edward's arm.

So how did she feel when she initiated the skin on skin contact? Did she feel fireworks? Butterflies flying around within the bottomless pit of her stomach? Pure ecstasy running in her veins as if she ingested coffee? Disappointingly enough, she didn't feel any of those things.

Instead, Winry felt as if she were on fire; the feel of his smooth and tan epidermis pressed against hers must have ignited some sort of flame and Winry had to confess that she liked that feeling. And hot damn, was he ever a furnace: almost as if the air conditioning never affected him.

"What are you doing?" Winry heard Edward whisper toward her with an annoyed tone of voice. Winry pressed her cheek further into his arm, despite how she felt him tense; yep, clearly he never went on a date with any girl much less having one feel him up. She could tell that he had the decency to try to keep his temper in check.

Winry rolled her baby blue eyes, though she doubted that he could see her doing so. "I'm cold. What does it look like?"

Edward released an unamused chortle. "You should have brought a sweater then, dumbass."

Winry could have flung an insult right back at him, but she took notice of how he didn't push her away from him. "I'm sorry," she seethed through her teeth. "I didn't think it was gonna be this cold in here."

Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Not my problem is it?"

"It will be your problem if I freeze my tits off in here. Or worse yet, if I die in here," Winry hissed back, as her hands tightened her grip on his skin – as if that would help solve the problem altogether.

For a brief moment or two, Winry thought she won that round when she didn't hear him retort. She was pretty smart about life in general, so she knew what she was talking about. It would be wise for him to take note and help her out; otherwise, they'd get kicked out of the theatre for disturbing the peace.

"They don't look frozen to me." Winry widened her eyes in both shock and disgust. It just occurred to her that he certainly wasn't shy with letting his voice be heard. But would it kill him to have some decency to not comment on her body? And on her chest no less.

"You're such a pervert," Winry squeaked in dismay and also to that same emotion of discontent, she felt her cheeks dusting themselves bright pink. It wasn't every day that a guy her own age commented on her body. Not even when she helped her grandmother back home did any customers make any rude remarks.

"If I recall, you're the one latching onto me," Edward deadpanned.

It wasn't her fault that he actually smelled kind of nice but it wasn't as if Winry would tell him that as it could go either two ways: he could either inflate his ego with that kind of compliment or he would be amusingly embarrassed. Winry would have to say that she'd like to see that reaction, but she had a feeling that if she admitted how charming his hygiene was at this exact moment, he would only get pissed off.

But maybe that was only because they were talking during the movie. Which was not her fault by the way.

Yet Winry still felt a tinge of embarrassment when she felt the person behind her kick her seat and whisper quite loudly to shut the hell up, they were trying to watch a movie, etc. etc. They even happened to mention how disgusting it was listening to their 'lovers' spat'.

"Now look what you did," Edward whispered in her ear, as he leaned over, with a taunting smirk on his face. Winry forced herself to let go of him, considering how he was insisting on acting like a smug little smartass.

"Shut up." _Just look back at the screen, Winry. If he wants to act like a toddler, he can act like one. Just focus on the movie._

"And here I thought you liked my company." Had he always been this unbelievably snarky and cocky with her? As she recalled their past encounters, he usually acted calm and composed around her; she didn't think that he was the obnoxious type but you know. Appearances could be deceiving.

"Until you opened your mouth." Okay in retrospect, maybe Winry shouldn't have said that for several reasons. The first, being that Edward – for a brief moment – looked as if he had gotten punched in the abdomen. There was a time that Winry thought he had a wall built around his emotions, so it kind of astonished her that she might have left an effect on him. Which left her feeling guiltier than she thought she would.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that –"

But before Winry could even finish her apology, the second reason had made its appearance. In the form of two cinema workers with flashlights and serious expressions on both of their faces. "You two need to come with us, please."

It was at this exact moment that Winry felt that she could not show herself around the cinema for at least six months.

And so much for a friendly get together.

**:3 :3 :3**

It's hilarious how Edward's ever-changing personality reminded Winry of some of Katy Perry's songs. Not that she listened to them a lot, but she'd say that Hot and Cold was on the list of top five favourite songs.

The reason she was thinking about this random realization was simple; taking into account that they had gotten kicked out of the movie theatre, without Rose in tow, Winry wanted something to eat. Plain and simple. So, she practically forced Edward to come along with her, giving her the excuse to chew him out for his little stunt in the theatre. But then again, it was kind of her fault too, but she didn't see it at the time when she spent two minutes arguing with the cinema worker.

Thus, Winry found a cute and cheap outdoors café – the whole nine yards when it came to outdoor design – and practically dragged Edward there along with her. And unlike in the movie theatre, it seemed as if he was back to his normal self (if that be the proper term at all), but he still made snarky comments.

They had been here for five minutes and already they challenged each other to a staring contest. Which was definitely a hate crime in Winry's opinion, but somehow she couldn't turn away from his captivating gaze. The way he's staring at her confused her for obvious reasons, therefore, leading her to believe that he changed his mind more than a girl changed clothes.

It infuriated her yet puzzled her; she couldn't help but feel astonished that she had a crush on this guy.

"Don't feel cold anymore? Or was that just an elaborate ruse to get me alone?"

Winry merely gave him a stoic expression before shaking her head. "That wasn't a ruse. I was really cold."

Edward smirked, as he leaned back against his chair. There was something about that smirk that she loathed, but to be honest, she kind of liked it. Again, not something Winry would say out loud. She could not believe this guy sometimes.

"Right. And I'm not the one drinking an ice cold soda pop am I?"

Winry frowned, glancing down toward her can of Sprite for a split second. But can anyone blame her for ordering something cold? She just stepped into a billion degrees Celsius volcanic zone; of course she'd be dying for something chilly at the moment. "Not that you'd believe me, but it's better to have something cold on a day like this instead of a warm Roy Rogers."

"You're right. I don't believe you."

"Is this how you treat every girl you befriend? Or do I just get the special treatment?" Winry quipped sarcastically, right before indulging herself with her Sprite. She, in actual fact, was still waiting for her pizza sub, which should have been here by now. But she could wait.

Edward didn't even hesitate to give her the response she was looking for. "I don't think I'd go that far to say you get special treatment."

Winry clicked her tongue in disappointment, as she solemnly shook her head. "I feel so sorry for all your girlfriends. I'm sure they enjoy having their heart broken."

"Since when do you know anything about me?"

"I didn't say that. I'm only assuming based on your behaviour, which needs a major attitude adjustment by the way, you don't treat girls the way they should be treated. With kindness."

Edward snorted. "I know how to be cordial. But you're not any other girl, are you?"

"Aww how sweet; you think I'm special."

"I was gonna say you seem more like a guy, but whatever."

Well he knew how to make a girl feel special, with retorts like that. But she was certain they had this kind of conversation right before they left to the cinemas. It wouldn't be surprising if Edward hadn't been paying attention to the discussion at hand. He just had this aura around him that led her to believe this.

"I told you that I was into automail, didn't I? Or perhaps you were too busy staring at my good stuff to even know that."

"What? Why would I ever do something like that?" If Winry didn't know any better, she thought she saw a hint of a blush on his cheeks. How adorable. And he was somewhat flustered too and just like that she knew she had the results she wanted.

"Because you're a guy. Sooner or later they all want a piece of something."

"Do you always assume guys want a piece of you?"

"Back where I'm from, no. They just see me as a dependable, hardworking engineer with the voice of an angel." So that was only a half-truth: the part of her having a voice of an angel was false but it wasn't like Edward would ever learn that from her.

This, on the other hand, just caused Edward to burst out laughing. Not the kind of laugh you'd receive if you said something cute, but the obnoxious sort of laugh that signified how much they're mocking you. "That's kind of overthinking it."

"You're a jerk, do you know that?"

"If I'm such a jerk, then why did you bother dragging me here, huh?"

Because she liked him. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

It was Edward's turn to give her a blank stare, almost if he had not understood the joke behind her words. "That's why I asked."

"I dragged you here so you can make it up to me, ok? You're the one who had to get us kicked out of the movie."

"If I take you out to see it again, will you stop nagging me?"

"Are you offering?"

"Hell no."


	7. Unexpected Greetings

**Thanks so much for all the reviews, guys! Do you have any idea how happy they make me feel? LOL! Just for that, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter: Alphonse makes his first appearance. **

**Tangled**

**Chapter 7: Unexpected Greetings**

There was never a moment in Winry's short life that she felt like strangling someone. Or throwing one of her trusty wrenches at their face. Or the urge to assault someone with no thought to the consequences whatsoever. It seemed this was the first time, but since Winry didn't have a wrench with her (not that she'd be trailing one around her all the time either) her fists would have to do.

But Winry felt like murder was too good for Edward to endure; she'd have to let him suffer slowly. Then she'd get the results she desired. Not that anyone could blame her for possessing certain psychotic thoughts: after all, he was also acting like a complete jackass. An infuriating one at that.

Or perhaps it was just the excruciating heat that caused her brain to short-circuit. Yeah, that would make sense too.

Winry might as well have thrown a curveball of curses in Edward's general direction but was interrupted by the waiter – who was cute, if she might say so herself – who laid both of their respective dishes in front of them. Thus, Winry's sense of vengeance was destroyed by her need to eat.

"One pizza sub and a slice of apple pie," the waiter said with a polite smile, though with the way that he was gazing toward Winry, it was assumed that he thought she was pretty cute. Winry blushed underneath his gaze as he stared at her for a couple of seconds more.

"Thank you," Winry smiled back, before diving into her sub with a content expression. However, she failed to notice the apprehensive look on Edward's face just before he dove into his apple pie.

The waiter did nothing to eradicate the tension between them – it practically did the opposite in fact. It was a mere ten seconds later that Edward began to make conversation. "You shouldn't get ahead of yourself. You were that close to making a fool of yourself in front of him."

Winry threw him a suspicious glare, not at all appreciating the topic that he had presented. "Why would you say that? I'm guessing he thought I was cute."

Edward snorted, as he inhaled some more of his pie. At least he had manners; at least he wasn't chewing with his mouth open like some farm animal. But that did little to polish his so called reputation. "Cute? Yeah, maybe like a puppy or something."

"So you're saying that I'm not in the least bit attractive enough to get a date?"

At first it seemed as if he had a comeback lined up to go, seeing that he took a deep breath, but he stopped. Therefore, his only response was a mere shrug of the shoulders. And by judging the expressionless facial features, Winry would say that he was getting bored.

"Well I feel loved," Winry murmured sarcastically, whilst staring down at her sub in disdain. She only took a few bites out of it, but after enduring this sort of answer from Edward, she felt her spirits dampen a little bit. Ok, so she felt disheartened that Edward thought of her as hideous, but why should she bother to think that his opinion mattered?

"Ed, there you are!"

Winry blinked, finding herself flinching – embarrassingly enough – as she heard someone's voice interrupt her negative thoughts. Good; because she didn't want to feel sorry for herself any longer. Winry looked up for a brief moment, barely able to register that a blonde boy (well to do, clean-cut) jogged up to stand by Edward, who greeted him. And he didn't happen to have a constipated look painted on his face. In fact, he seemed all too glad to see this guy.

"Hey Al, what's up?"

"Just got a text from Rose; says that you were kicked out of the theatre. I just wanted to see if that's true, but I didn't figure I'd see you here." Well, Winry didn't think that cute little outdoor cafes like these were where Edward wanted to spend his time either.

If things couldn't get any more awkward than this, Winry thought wrong, as it seemed that this was the first time 'Al' had noticed she was here. But who wouldn't be uncomfortable? Especially since she most likely had pizza sauce all over her face?

But not as embarrassing as the time she accidentally flashed one of her patients last year: now that was embarrassing, considering she didn't find a good enough belt to hold up her pants.

Before Edward could retaliate with an insult (which Winry figured he would do at this point), the boy named Al spoke up, this time directed toward her. "You must be Winry. My name is Alphonse. But you can call me Al."

It was at this point that Winry had just realized this had to be Rose's ex-boyfriend, which was somewhat strange. But what was most likely just as strange was that this had to be Edward's brother; he had the same golden eyes, blonde hair – though it was cropped – and bright complexion. It didn't need to take an idiot to see the similarities and Winry knew that they were siblings easily enough.

Although Edward could definitely use an attitude change, whereas Alphonse was probably one of the nicest boys she had the pleasure to meet. You'd also think that Edward would learn a thing or two about treating girls with respect from him.

"Nice to meet you," Winry answered back, just as politely as you would greet a Canadian.

"You guys don't happen to be on a date, now would you?"

Winry almost choked on her breath after Alphonse merely saying it so casually. Judging from the twinkle in his eyes, Winry had to say he was joking.

But she found that her heart broke a little bit more when she heard Edward reply, "No, we're not. What makes you think that I'd go on a date with her?"

"Brother, she seems like a nice girl. And she's cute too." With good measure, Alphonse winked in Winry's direction and truthfully, that did make her feel a little better.

"And too old for you," Edward mumbled.

Alphonse clapped his brother on the back, chuckling in amusement. "Only a year. But I don't think she's my type. So did you give her your number yet?"

From this point forward, Winry knew that she had grown an admiration toward Alphonse Elric, of which she knew the admiration was mutual. If it weren't for his brash statements, Winry didn't think that Edward would get so embarrassed easily.

And so at that moment, Winry offered him a seat, seeing that she wanted to get to know him better. For obvious reasons, Winry made sure to stay clear out of his dating history, despite some light-hearted comments about first dates and what kind of girl Alphonse wanted in life. For this specific reason, Winry found it easier to pretend that Edward wasn't there; it seemed like the tension between the two dissipated as Winry opened up to Alphonse about her personal life.

It was funny how they had just met and already Winry had a feeling that the two were going to be lifelong friends. But whether or not she'd say the same about Edward she had no clue.

If she didn't know any better, she'd say that he was upset that she was ignoring him: granted that she felt his gaze upon her several times. It was annoying; if he had something to say, he should just say it. But nope – he just had to shut up and let Alphonse take the reins in terms of conversation topics.

But there were a few things that Winry learned about both brothers that lessened her frustration with Edward. First, they had no parents – which was a subject that Edward flinched upon hearing, thus he confessed that their mom died of an illness when they were young and their father just took off not too long before that. Winry could relate, knowing the feeling of abandonment and sorrow when learning of her own parents' deaths. Yet she knew that the last thing that Edward wanted to hear was her sympathies.

Secondly, Alphonse shared a couple stories about the time of their childhood: not embarrassing ones, but stories that gave Edward a strongly protective and fiercely loyal reputation. Alphonse admitted that Edward couldn't trust other people easily, knowing that the two of them were abandoned at a young age, and randomly enough, would rather spend his nights hanging out with his family rather than party.

It was funny how Winry found herself even drawn further toward Edward. So what if he was rough around the edges and language wasn't something that he'd look out for? It occurred to her that maybe he was in desperate need of companionship other than his brother.

Maybe she was completely wrong about him from the beginning.

**:3 :3 :3**

Despite the day's events, Winry thought it was a decent day all in all. It wasn't every day that she got kicked out of a movie theater for being obnoxiously loud, so she was sure that was going to give her emotional trauma for the next couple days. She wasn't afraid to let Edward know of this and in response he basically blamed her and called her a drama queen. Which was pretty much the biggest insult that had been thrown in her general direction; Winry didn't like to think of herself as a drama queen.

She liked to think of herself as a classy, confident young woman with a bright future. At least, that was what her grandmother told her, who suggested that she should go straight to college after high school, granted that her own parents had done the same. Maybe she'd find her own happily ever after in the form of excellent grades and a penchant for helping others with disabilities.

Winry certainly never minded doing that at all, much to her grandmother's approval. After all, those who didn't work didn't get to eat: a saying that had been passed down in the Rockbell family for generations.

"So how was your date?" Rose inquired with a large grin on her face, as she leant against the doorway leading into Winry's bedroom. As usual, Rose did not look as if she were sweating buckets: in fact, she looked as radiant as ever, much to Winry's own chagrin, as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. What could she say? Winry felt just as disgusting and gross as she looked; hell, her own clothes, much less her hair, clung to her sweaty skin as if they were glue!

Granted that it was seven thirty in the evening, Winry doubted that she'd be heading to bed early.

"It wasn't a date," Winry protested and much to her relief, her cheeks weren't burning as badly as they were before. From what Alphonse told her earlier, right before they all went their separate ways, she apparently had a little bit of a sunburn. Something that Edward failed to tell her.

Again, what could she say to something like that?

"Sure it wasn't."

"Last time I checked, he would never go out with me in a million years apparently."

Rose laughed, which made Winry think for a moment that she was mocking her: it was not too often that Rose would make fun of her for that she did or did not do. "Honestly, I saw him check you out earlier when we hit the cinemas."

"That's why he thinks I'm unattractive, I bet," Winry snorted, rolling her eyes in disbelief.

"He didn't say he hated you, did he?"

Winry released an exasperated sigh; sometimes what she told Rose fell upon deaf ears and it could be a bad thing sometimes. "He did give me his number…"

Rose squealed in joy, causing Winry to flinch in fright for a brief moment; she also forgot that Rose could be pretty loud sometimes in that pretentious sort of way. She knew for a fact she did not scream this loud since she learned that the Backstreet Boys were going on tour.

"Now that's adorable. If I know Ed as well as I do, which I totally do by the way, he doesn't give out his number to just anyone. He must really think you're something special," Rose explained, just before giving Winry a wink of reassurance.

"I guess."

"Just give it time. I'm sure you'll be cozying it up soon enough." Winry's cheeks blushed slightly; it's almost as if she actually gave it some thought as to cozying up next to him. Oh yeah, she kind of already did in the theatre – which definitely broke his breach of privacy. But it wasn't like Winry would reveal that to Rose; she would never hear the end of the 'aww' or 'cute!' statements of approval.

"That is if he expands his personal bubble."

"A-ha, so you have thought about it," Rose smirked, as she sat down beside Winry on her bed in cross-legged formation. "So maybe that day will come sooner than I thought."

"I'm sure he is cuddly as a Build-a-Bear," Winry remarked sarcastically, though she did not deny or confirm Rose's accusation. If anything, she should be saying that Alphonse was just as adorable as Winnie-the-Pooh.

"And he can be your teddy bear."

Winry did not look at all amused of what Rose just said to her, but she wasn't apprehensive about it either. Rose, believe it or not, said worse things than that and it would be better to never find out what. "


	8. Price to Pay

**You guys are making me so happy with your reviews! I can't even! :DDDD Just for that, you get more EdWin interaction, even though they're not interacting face to face. LOL. ;)**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 8: Price to Pay**

If anyone was surviving in Liore just as long as Winry had, they should completely be able to sympathize her for the heat waves during the evening hours. It was almost as if Winry had been plucked into the fiery depths of hell because that was how bad they were. Almost every night Winry found herself sweating up a storm and let's face it, that wasn't exactly an attractive attribute if she'd try to catch anyone's attention.

That was enough to put her in a cranky mood. Seriously, she was this close to chopping all of her long and luscious blonde locks off, since it kept clinging to her skin. But Winry figured that was the psychotic alter-ego talking. There was no way she'd be able to part with her hair. Even if it did get in the way of her work sometimes.

Well, desperate times called for desperate measures.

Which meant that Winry had to sleep in a cropped tee-shirt and her gitch; that was what she meant when she said she's desperate to keep cool. To be honest, she could have taken a cold shower, but Winry felt awfully exhausted to do anything else.

Winry turned over unto her stomach, attempting to find a cool spot upon her comfy as hell queen-sized bed. Unfortunately, she had spent ten or so minutes trying with her might to do so. Thus, her failed attempts left her irritable and restless.

She figured it was about midnight which meant that Rose had to be sleeping as peacefully as squirrels did during hibernation. This also meant that there was no possible way she'd be able to hear Winry grunting with annoyance. But could anyone blame her?

Since there was no way she'd be able to sleep now, Winry was reduced to absolute boredom. Though she was not a child, she was fifteen and adored being a busy-body. Unfortunately there was no one here to ask her to fix their prosthetics.

Which left her with one option if you wanted to get serious here. There was a slight possibility that someone else couldn't sleep either, so why not start up a little late night conversation through the miraculous invention of texting? Granted that this was possibly the stupidest idea Winry ever had – if one asked her common sense AKA the rational part of her mind – why wouldn't she try it?

Winry retrieved her phone from the mahogany nightstand sitting beside her bed. It wasn't long before she managed to pull out her contacts and eyed the list searching for a victim.

She kind of had a bad feeling about this; almost as if she were going to regret ever doing this in the morning. But Winry was confident enough she could deal with the repercussions later. What could she possibly have left to lose?

Paninya? She was, believe it or not, the type to end any sort of conversation if contacted in the dead of night with two simple words. None of which that Winry would ever plan to hear ever again, so that meant Paninya was out. As nice as she was in the day, she could be pretty cranky if someone woke her up in the middle of the night.

Riza? Well, they weren't the best of friends, and even though there was a good chance she'd still be up at this hour, the conversation would be weird nonetheless. They did talk from time to time as she was a friend of the family and Riza had been there for Winry more times than she planned on counting. It had to be the age difference that was setting her off.

Edward.

She could try texting him, but would he even be up at this hour? Eh, why not? It'd be even more of a shock if he went to bed at nine o'clock every night and somehow Winry couldn't picture him doing that. In all honesty, Winry did feel like talking to him; she figured that this wakeup call would serve him right.

But there was also the possibility of pissing him off even more. And frankly, Winry didn't seem to care; if he could disrupt their time together in a movie theater, she could disrupt his sleeping schedule.

_Hey, are you up? _Probably the worst greeting you could send to anyone, but Winry just didn't have the patience to come up with something better. Part of her did think that he wasn't going to answer and truth be told, she was hoping that he would.

To her surprise, he answered two minutes later, thus her insides started to perform back flips and her heartbeat increased a little quicker. Though what Edward said in response almost turned her off completely. _What do you want?_

_I can't sleep. Got any tips? :p _Nothing wrong with a cute little confused emoji.

_I dunno. Just count sheep or something._ Count sheep or something? What was this – grade school? Then again, Winry somewhat expected his response to be more snarky than that. Maybe he was too tired to even care. Yep, some of the regret was starting to sink in.

_Ur the life of the party _Winry texted back, rolling her baby blue eyes in response.

_Damn right about that. Ur kind of uptight_. She meant to be sarcastic about her last text but of course Edward had to take her seriously. But it was one thing for him to call her uptight of all things. But didn't she ask for it though?

_I am so not uptight! :P I know how to have fun. _She sent this text with a shit-eating grin on her lips. Let's see what he'll say to that. He might as well give up now when he had the chance, though that was pointless considering how Winry craved this kind of interaction. Which was kind of pathetic if you thought about it.

_Painting ur toenails and watching Grey's Anatomy doesn't count as fun._ Okay, first of all, Winry hardly ever painted her toenails. And second of all, you couldn't force Winry to watch that show in a million years – no matter how much money you bribed her with. Although Winry did snort in amusement at Edward's retort.

_Ur hilarious. ;) but 4 real though; I'm bored and I can't sleep. _It was so not conceding defeat; even Winry knew when an argument was a lost cause, but she only gave up on them sometimes. If only she was one of those people that could voice out their opinions when they know they're right and not because someone pushed them to the brink of emotional trauma.

_So u decided to text me out of boredom instead of sleeping like a normal person?_

So how was Winry going to respond? She could say three things; she possessed the eerie ability to trade in sleep for the rare urge to do some shenanigans once every ten years, she was actually an android from the future sent to screw up every human's sleep schedule or she could say that she missed him so much that she wanted to text him so badly. The last option sounded so amusing so she wondered how his reaction would play out.

_I just missed you so much; I had to talk to you. 3 _That heart emoticon was added for playful effect and as much as she meant it genuinely, she severely doubted Edward would think that she was serious.

_I knew it. U r crazy._

Winry busted out laughing, unable to hold back the cheeky giggles that escaped her throat. Normally she'd punch a guy if they ever called her crazy, but she just had to make an exception for Edward in this case. She could just imagine the look on Edward's face right now, which was probably the only reason why she was laughing as obnoxiously as she did.

_U know you 3 me. There's no need to deny it. _Oh man, she never had so much fun teasing someone.

_Whatever helps u sleep at night._

It hadn't even been ten minutes and already Winry's morale was steadily lifting itself up. Even if Edward kind of thought she was a moron for texting him this late.

_I don't know… it's boiling hot in my room._

_Then take a shower or something. _

_Would u judge me if I said I didn't feel like it?_

Yeah, there was no doubt that he'd judge her so hard for not doing the sensible thing. It was pretty obvious that Edward was most likely face palming, seeing that he never bothered replying for two minutes straight.

_Is that why u can't sleep? Cuz ur too lazy to get off ur ass?_ Needless to say, it was hilarious that it took him a couple minutes to respond. But it should be clear to anyone that the text didn't make a lot of sense even if Winry knew what he was trying to say. Regardless, she was quoting him on this.

_So in order for me to sleep, I have to get off my butt… _Winry knew that she really shouldn't be doing this, but hey, she should at least have a little fun at his expense. Just a bit though. She wasn't that cruel.

_Shut up. You know what I mean._

Was it weird to enjoy texting someone so much? And by weird, it was sad to say the least that Winry had to take her gratification in texting someone she didn't know for very long.

Winry would have had the perfect retaliation text in place, only Edward had texted back. _So what's really on ur mind?_

So maybe she wasn't giving him enough credit, but it wasn't as if Winry had anything to hide. Maybe he wasn't dense or lacked common sense, but it sounded as if he cared enough to ask what was wrong. She felt extremely flattered but at the same time she felt as if this was an out of character question on his part.

_Nothing. I just can't sleep._ Normally she'd listen to a variety of songs on her iPod before getting some shut-eye, not in any particular order of genre. There were only a couple of songs that she liked from ShaNa, yet that was almost all of the J-pop she listened to, and country as well as rap music were not genres that she liked for the most part.

_No nightmares or nothing?_ Yeah. He definitely cared.

_Aww, are you worried about little old me? ;) _Maybe she shouldn't have put it like that…

_Who said I was worried? I just don't want this to be a recurrence._ Ouch. That kind of hurt.

_So if I happened to have a nightmare or if I'm just feeling blue, I'm not allowed to call you or anything? _

Winry was sort of hoping that he could be her 2 am call, but now she couldn't say she blamed him. He was probably busy sleeping and she had no right to invade his personal bubble; what was she even thinking? No, that was just the guilt talking. It had to be just that.

_If that happens, call me, okay? But it better not be every damn night._ And just like that, Winry's heart soared; for a moment there, she thought she was facing cold-hearted rejection. But knowing that he'll be there for her touched her so much. Deep down, he was a big sweetheart but it's likely he didn't think of himself that way.


	9. Gravity Hammers and Sexual Tension

**Thank you goes out to everyone who reviewed, followed and favourited this story; believe me, I am that thankful ;) **

**Without further ado, here is chapter nine and I honestly hope that you guys will tell me what you think. Because I love feedback. xD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 9: Gravity Hammers and Sexual Tension**

It was nearing the end of July and Winry felt as if she hardly accomplished anything worthwhile. Don't get her wrong, her friendship with Edward was steadily growing closer, but everyone knew at this point that (and by everyone, she meant herself) her feelings for him were unrequited.

She shouldn't be selling herself short, but Winry knew better than to get her hopes up.

For the past two weeks, Winry put in a lot of effort in hanging out with Edward, much to Rose's delight. To be completely honest, most of the times they hung out, they ended up arguing about something stupid. Such as Winry beating Edward at Monopoly, which he supposedly accused her of cheating. Or even about Edward's man stink that invaded her personal bubble and she'd tell him that. Only in reality she liked his musk.

Whether or not their relationship would turn into something else, Winry was plainly curious as to where he and Alphonse lived. It just occurred to her that she hadn't brought it up in the past, since all they've really done was discuss about their interests. In a way, Winry felt much closer to him than she had before, but at the same time they could not be more distant.

It bothered her much more than it should. And frankly, her little fixation was starting to make itself known to other people and by that, she really meant Rose.

So it was a beautiful morning, approximately eleven o'clock, on this fine day of July 27th. So what did Winry and Rose attempt to accomplish on days – which were full of sunshine and cloudless azure skies – like these?

Sun tan. Not something that Winry needed to do but she would much rather be out in the sun than in those tanning booths. She saw Jersey Shore; she practically knew the ultimate catchphrase often associated with it: GTL (gym, tanning, laundry).

That was the extent of her knowledge.

The point was, today wasn't as grueling as the previous summer days, much to Winry's delight, although she had a feeling that Liore was in for a rainy day at some point. Not that she'd protest. Because out of all the days she had been here so far, it only rained twice. Hell, Winry would even welcome the rain by dancing in it even if it was a thunderstorm. But then that would attract all sorts of crazy and she'd probably be labelled as one.

"Winry? Are you even listening?"

She blinked, finding herself drawn to reality, and judging by the unimpressed expression on Rose's face… she could say she had been daydreaming for at least ten minutes. Come on, she shouldn't even be surprised. If Rose even knew her as she thought she did, she would know straight from the get-go as to what she was thinking of.

"You're hopeless," Rose sighed, before leaning right back on her lawn chair with her sunglasses perched on her nose.

"Can't have a little more faith in me, can you?" Winry huffed, fixing her bikini top none too subtly. Honestly she didn't know why she bought this one; as much as she appreciated the fact that the bikini was emerald, it felt a little too tight on her in certain areas – of which she was certain that she'd be arrested for indecent exposure if she was ever caught.

Oh the things Winry did to keep her friend happy.

"I always have faith in you. When you're not lollygagging."

Winry rolled her eyes, not bothering to put in her two cents. After all, her grandma gives her the same speech whenever Winry took at least one second of her busy schedule to relax. Therefore she learned to ignore it. Just like how she learned to ignore the fact that Zayn had left One Direction.

"So how are you and Ed doing?"

Winry raised an eyebrow; she didn't think that Edward was the type to have a nickname, but she was wrong about a lot of things. But it still surprised her. And now that she reflected on it for a few seconds, she had to admit that it suited him. "How we're doing?"

Rose playfully swatted Winry's shoulder, replying in a somewhat exasperated tone, "You know what I mean. You two hit it off perfectly. Did he kiss you yet?"

Winry's heart nearly leaped out of her chest as Rose threw in a smile along with the unexpected question. Surely she hoped that her ears didn't deceive her; she figured that she would ask something like that in the near future.

"You're blushing," Rose pointed out, which only made Winry bury her face in the palms of her hands. True, she was blushing but that didn't mean it meant what Rose thought it meant.

"We didn't kiss. We're not even going out."

Winry didn't even know why Rose looked so surprised at this; in her little dream world, anyone that she set up would have at least hooked up within a week. She supposed that this was the first time that Winry was taking this relationship slow. If only people could be hit with Cupid's arrow. Not that Winry was desperate or anything.

"That's crazy. I'm positive he would have asked you out by now," Rose spoke out with a confident tone of voice. Even when things looked hopeless, she always stayed ecstatic about the situation. Clearly it was meant to be a good thing right about now.

"I'm not even sure if I'm his type."

For all she knew, Edward most likely had a thing for busty brunettes with a flirty disposition: something that Winry never had. And most likely he would never go for a girl who didn't fit the stereotypical textbook definition of feminine.

"No, he definitely likes you," Rose said matter-of-factually, as she spread a little more suntan lotion on her stomach.

Winry furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Why would you say that?"

"He never gives most girls the time of day. But you clearly did something to change his mind. You could say that he never met anyone like you before. Plus I think he always had a thing for girls who knew their automail," Rose explained.

Winry didn't know what to say at first. She always assumed that whenever they talked about that sort of stuff, Edward seemed turned off and had no trouble expressing his distaste (by throwing insults like she was always acting like a guy, etc.). Both of them just liked picking fights any chance they got. That was how their friendship worked.

"He has a funny way of showing it," Winry deadpanned.

"Haven't you ever heard that saying? Of how if a guy teases you that means he likes you?" Rose inquired, which wiped Winry's lips from forming a frown.

"I guess." It'd be nice if Edward actually did try to return her feelings like a normal person instead of acting like a jerk about it. But in his own way, she knew he was nice. Supposedly. She only came to that conclusion when she remembered that he texted her that one night saying that she could call or text him whenever she felt like it. As long as it wasn't disturbing his sleep schedule.

By far that was probably the sweetest thing he ever said to her.

"I think that you're the best thing that's happened to him," Rose stated, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I highly doubt that." Could you say that she was exaggerating much?

"I'm serious. Out of everything he's told you, don't you think you've made an impact on his life?"

When Rose put it like that, Winry couldn't help but agree. Edward supposedly never opened up to anyone and knowing that he did tell her something about his life, she did feel special. So what would be the point of giving up hope? Though she wasn't going to tell him her feelings straight away because she had a feeling what he would say in response, she'll give it time. Besides, even if he didn't like her in that way, Winry knew she'd be content with late night conversations ranging from serious topics to humorous story-telling.

"I mean, he impacted yours. In a good way of course."

"Clearly he's inspired me to act nicer to people," Winry sarcastically retorted. "I don't understand why he has to act like a jerk all the time."

"As I said, just give it time. I remember a few years ago that he helped me get back on my feet. There was this woman who I guess I could have called a grandmother. She got sick a lot and I always used to pray for her to get better. But she never did. Ed actually was by my side when I heard she passed away and he told me I can get back on my feet and keep moving forward."

And that scratched Winry's initial impression of Edward, which consisted of blatant insults; it was difficult to believe that when she first met him she believed he was a maleficent, inconsiderate swine in need of manners.

"I know that he acts short-tempered at times, but you're always there to balance him out."

Winry wasn't sure where Rose was going with all this praise. "You keep saying that I'm the one who's creating all these changes in him. Are you sure about that?"

Before Rose could answer, Winry's cell phone buzzed, gaining her attention. Her heartbeat accelerated and possibly off the charts as she realized it was most likely Edward.

She pretended to ignore Rose's knowing gaze while she quickly grabbed her phone in question. Sometimes Rose didn't know when to give it a rest but this was the one day that Winry could tolerate it.

_What are you doing right now?_

Winry couldn't stop the satisfied smirk that was spreading across her lips like butter was on toast. Well, well, well, she hoped she was proud of herself now; maybe Edward really did enjoy her company, though she couldn't think of any reason why anyone wouldn't enjoy being in the presence that was Winry Rockbell.

_Tanning with Rose. What about you? _It was nice not having to be the first one to text him all the time. But Rose told her a few days ago that wasn't uncommon; she supposed that was how he was.

_Al wants to know if u want to play Halo. _Ok, that kind of didn't answer her question, but Winry still felt a flutter of hope. She was beginning to think that Edward wouldn't want her coming over to his place ever, so you guess you could say this was a big step.

_I'm game for it. Are you? ;) _You could also say there wasn't much else that gave her so much gratification than teasing Edward.

"That's how you're going to solve your sexual tension? Through a game of Halo?" Rose inquired with a hint of disappointment in her voice. Winry, of course, flinched as she had not noticed her friend looking over her shoulder. Leave it to Rose's curiosity to be updated on Winry's love life.

"It's not what you think!" Winry protested. "And it's not sexual tension." Winry supposed she should have sounded more convincing, but with all the crap that spewed out of Rose's mouth sometimes, it took too much energy to even try.

"Sure it isn't."

Instead of dignifying this with a sarcastic retort like she always did, Winry instead focused her energy on the text that Edward had just sent her.

_Bring it on. I can take you._

Considering that Winry beat him in almost every gaming challenge, ranging from board games to X-Box, this should be a piece of cake.

**:3 :3 :3**

"This is bullshit," Edward cursed, having no trouble letting loose his outdoor voice. So how many times did he swear like a sailor now in the past ten minutes? Fifteen? Not that Winry had a problem with it; she thought it was hilarious once again that she was kicking his own ass in a game that he enjoyed immensely.

Granted Winry had only been in his apartment for at least half an hour seemed to perfectly describe how sad these current events were.

"Never mess with a girl with a gravity hammer," Winry sing-songed, flipping her blonde hair over her shoulder while crossing her legs to reach a more comfortable position on Edward's leather couch. And boy was it ever comfy when she first plopped down on it; it seemed to make up for the fact that Edward's place was practically barren and smelled of Axe and a hint of smoke.

Honestly, Winry smelt worse fumes in her lifetime.

Aside from that, she found that she liked it, despite its somewhat cramped size. At least Edward tried to keep his humble abode clean enough for visitors; meaning no dirty socks in the sink nor were their empty pizza boxes lying around the floor.

The walls were bare of posters, but the shade of crimson paint that decorated them was appealing, therefore distracting any visitor from noting the cracks that inhabited some parts of them.

Basically, the whole apartment was just one, communal living space – apart from the bathroom and Edward and Alphonse's rooms. If anything, Winry appreciated said simple living style; both Alphonse and Edward had similar tastes in that regard which meant no fancy statues or paintings.

The living room was just as 'tidy' and 'organized' and fared pretty well if you asked Winry. Apart from appreciating the couch, and the thirty inch television set of which Edward's X-Box was hooked up to, Winry liked the bay window that overlooked Liore; and yes, Edward and Alphonse lived that high up. The view was incredible and Winry, believe it or not, would have liked to spend the rest of her life looking down on the city. If she was pretty much impressed by the sights in the daytime, she could only imagine what it would look like in the evening.

"Shut up," Edward hissed, as his character was pronounced dead on-screen. Whereas Winry's character was making its way to the ghost vehicle.

It's hilarious that she had used the ghost at least twice in this round and Edward practically died any time he had come close to it.

And she was accused of going easy on him. Right. But apparently he got his revenge when she tried riding one ATV, attempting to run him over, but alas it wasn't meant to be: considering that Edward used his gravity hammer to defend himself, thus, causing her to fly directly over top of him.

"What's that? You wish that I could go easy on you?" Winry taunted.

"If anything, I'm the one who should be going easy on you."

Winry laughed, cradling her face in one hand in an attempt to calm down (which was hard to do considering the circumstances). "Are you kidding me? It's not working out for you very well now, is it?" Winry pursed her lips, before adding on with a delighted tone of voice, "Too bad Al isn't here to witness your defeat."

From what Al explained, he had a new dinner date with this girl – of whom he refused to give out the name of – leaving Edward and Winry to sort out their so called battle strategic differences by themselves: much to Edward's chagrin.

Now that Winry thought about it, Edward started acting flustered when Al told him (or rather the both of them) that they leave the making out to a minimum.

"If he should be here to witness anything, he'll witness your defeat," Edward replied with a hint of arrogance.

"Yeah, right. We all know that he would want me to win. Again."

Edward barely even let her finish her sentence before he snapped back, "Those were all fluke wins. They don't count." As much as Winry loved seeing him spaz over the fact that she was a better Halo player than he was, he could be quite the baby if he wanted to.

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"My controller wasn't plugged in."

"What? That's so not true! The controllers are wireless!" Winry scoffed in disbelief at his claim although his comeback did make her want to giggle.

Winry patted Edward's right knee playfully, and as she did so, she felt something similar to chills running down her spine. Normally you'd feel skin when a course of action like that was taken, but Winry didn't feel the epidermis. In fact, if she didn't know any better, she felt metal collide with her hand.

As a result, she gasped, which gartered Edward's attention. "What is it?"

Winry looked into his eyes, which were cautiously gazing back at her, and she inquired, "You don't happen to have… automail, do you?"

Judging by the guarded expression which currently resided on his facial features, Winry knew her answer. At first she regretted bringing it up, since she detected something akin to sadness in his gold hues: it had to mean that there was a tragic story behind it. She didn't know him fully well enough yet to pry into his past. She also didn't want to make things awkward between them either. But that ship was long gone, so all Winry had to do was wait for his answer.


	10. Hot and Cold

**We're at chapter ten already, holy cow. I have all of you to thank for reviewing: it gives me so much gratification that someone out there is enjoying my work. XD and I apologize if this chapter isn't as long as the previous one. **

**So will you please leave a review? I'd love to know what you think! And that is no company line either. XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 10: Hot and Cold**

"Yeah, I do," Edward answered stiffly, avoiding Winry's curious gaze locked on him. "It's nothing I usually talk to people about you know," He added with a sarcastic undertone, flipping his braided hair over his shoulder, leaning back against the couch.

This point forward meant one thing – that there were no playful exchanges or taunting to be had; this was the kind of interaction that Winry was kind of hoping for ever since they started to become closer as friends.

But did he trust her enough to reveal the story behind it?

Winry also leaned back against the couch, stretching her legs none too subtly, as she attempted to find a more comfortable position. You'd also be interested to know that she might or might not have schooched several inches closer to him – probably close enough so that their skin was definitely in contact with each other's.

"May I see?" Winry asked softly and with a breathy tone.

Edward snorted, which made Winry think to herself for a second that he wasn't going to give her that privilege, but what he did next astonished her. Winry could only sit in shock as Edward rolled up his right pant-leg, but that expression quickly turned into one of awe and admiration.

On the other hand, Winry couldn't help but feel a twinge of pity at the sight before her; which was his entire leg covered in automail. It wasn't that she felt pity per se, but she could more or less say that she cringed a little bit when she saw several scars right above his knee.

"It's awful, isn't it?" Edward sighed, and Winry – as smart as she was pretty – couldn't even tell if he was being serious or not.

Winry blinked in disbelief, as she replied, without sounding at all pitiful, "It's not bad. I work with a lot of automail back home."

It saddened her to think that he didn't look convinced, but nonetheless, he didn't try to pick a fight with her. "You really don't think it's bad?"

Winry patted his knee of which was supposed to be a comforting action without even thinking twice. Much to her embarrassment. And she really couldn't stop the sparks from spreading throughout her body: Winry liked to believe she enjoyed the amount of body heat he was emanating. And she also couldn't stop enjoying his cologne: sometimes it was impossible for her to imagine how some guys could maintain their hygiene on a regular basis.

"No, I don't. But if I may ask, what happened?"

Winry could have sworn she had almost gotten herself lost when he looked at her with those smoldering eyes. But Winry knew fully well that she was paying close enough attention to the conversation at hand.

"I was in a train accident a few years ago. Al wasn't with me at the time. He was staying with our godparent's husband," Edward explained. "My godmother just barely made it out of there and my leg got blown off at some point. Hurt like a bitch, if you want the truth."

Winry narrowed her eyes, before she planted her hands on his cheeks, making him face her. Again, she had to try her hardest to ignore the fact that her insides turned into goo when she felt his skin collide with hers. "How could you say it like that? Most people would take solace in the fact that they're alive."

Her heart almost sank when she witnessed the look of hurt etched onto his features. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that," Winry apologized profoundly.

Edward shrugged, as if nothing ever fazed him, and pulled his face away from her hands. "Whatever. But make up your damn mind if you want to say something that matters next time."

"What is with you? Are you seriously going to snap back at me?" Winry took a deep breath, attempting with all her might and will-power to calm down. It wasn't going to solve anything if she was only going to release her foul temper on the guy. "Well I'm sorry, okay?"

One moment Edward could act playful and tolerable to be around, but then there seemed to be moments when he enjoyed being an asshole to other people. Winry was seriously questioning whether or not that he needed to go to the Attitude Store to pick up a new Attitude.

But Winry's negative thoughts vanished completely the moment that she remembered Rose telling her how problematic it was for him to open up to other people. She honestly had to keep reminding herself of this, but it didn't mean she would start pitying him either: Winry could tell that he wasn't the type of person to accept it.

"No. I'm sorry, alright? I shouldn't have snapped back at you like that," Edward confessed, and if Winry didn't know any better, she'd say that he was blushing. "But don't expect me to repeat myself."

Winry gave him a small smile and a salute, but as far as she knew, she didn't see his cheeks burn a darker shade of crimson. "I heard you loud and clear."

Edward continued to lock gazes with her, almost as if he was suspicious of her change of heart. "You're an idiot."

"What?"

"For trusting people too easily. You don't seem to care that I'm not your everyday nice guy. Why?" So it would seem that he wasn't trying to ruffle her feathers but he truly was curious to know what she thought of him.

You see, if this were a cliché chick flick, this would be the moment in time that Winry would confess her feelings for him. But he was no Tom Hiddelston and she was no Rachel Weiss (The Deep Blue Sea was an extremely disappointing film in her opinion and of which she could not get two hours of her life back): this was real life where tragedies happened every day and certain people were doomed to spend the rest of their lives contemplating the inevitability of dying alone.

"You're a really fun guy to be around, even if you're a sore loser, and you're loyal and caring to those who know you. Those are pretty good qualities to have," Winry explained. It wasn't as if she was lying to him. But as much as she would have liked to say that she never regretted meeting him, she was afraid that it would come out too sappy. Even for her tastes.

"That's what you really think?" Edward asked cautiously. "Even if we're complete strangers?"

"We're not total strangers if we've been hanging out for a few weeks."

Edward retorted, "But that doesn't mean you know everything about me." That in itself was a good point: from what Winry observed over the past few weeks, she noticed that he was still somewhat guarded around her. No doubt it would take a while to keep scratching at the surface.

"But you revealed something personal," Winry rebuffed with a somewhat peppy tone of voice. "You said yourself that you don't just reveal to anyone that you have an automail leg." Winry tucked some of loose strands of hair behind her ear while she smirked knowingly. "That means I have to be pretty special."

Just as she finished revealing her opinion, Winry could have sworn that she heard Edward choke on his breath. Not that it was possible. But Winry was confused at first as to why Edward turned away from her, but again, the thought occurred to her that she must have made him embarrassed. Again.

So he was one of those people that felt uncomfortable talking about their feelings: the mainstream cultural norm of masculinity inflicted upon them since the beginning of time, although it depended on where you lived. If it was in Amestris, the once small and densely populated country, where Winry lived, that was the kind of thing that was expected of certain men. Not that it was explicitly told to you or anything.

But Winry liked him the way he was, even if she assumed his attitude could get him into a lot of trouble one day.

"Am I right? Of course I am. I charm my way into everyone's hearts," Winry proclaimed.

But then she heard barely concealed snorts and chuckles coming from the blonde next to her, which immediately roused her suspicion. "What? What did I say?" it wasn't like she said anything embarrassing. She was serious when she said that she appealed to everyone in her nearby surroundings.

"If you mean 'annoy', then yeah, you charm your way in," Edward burst out laughing, causing Winry's cheeks to turn a bright shade of red.

"I am so not annoying," Winry blurted through her teeth, but apparently her defensive statement did nothing to stop Edward's teasing.

"Right. Like you weren't the one who kept badgering us to watch Anastasia the other night," Edward crossed his arms, giving Winry one of his famous smolders with a side dish of smirking. Of course he looked profoundly delicious with that arrogant look planted on his face: there was no use denying that now.

"It's a classic," Winry avertedly defended the film with a whining tone added to her voice. "Besides, Rose wanted to watch it too."

Edward snorted. "Yeah well, what was wrong with my choice? You can't go wrong with Harry Potter."

It was Winry's turn to roll her eyes and scoff: they had this argument once or twice before and he still couldn't understand why Harry Potter didn't make it on the top five films to watch that night. "As much as I like it, Rose doesn't. We had to watch something that we all enjoyed. And do not tell me that you never liked Anastasia," Winry added, noting how Edward was fully prepared to jump in and interrupt her with a point of his own.

"I didn't like Anastasia," Edward grinned wickedly, slowly pausing on each word as if he were attempting to spell out a word for a toddler. It did not help matters at all that he slanted in closer to her face, subconsciously letting out puffs of warm breath to land on her skin – tickling her like they were feathers.

_Thump-thump…thump-thump…thump-thump… _Was he going to kiss her? Judging by how close he's gotten, there was a part of her that assumed so.

What would it be like to kiss him? Winry wondered how it would feel for his lips to touch hers…

"Are you okay?" Winry opened her eyes suddenly, not even aware that she had shut them in the first place. So when she had opened them, Edward's cocky expression had transformed into one of concern. "Your face is red."

"I'm fine," Winry insisted, as she twirled around to face the wall without taking a glimpse in Edward's direction.

Boy did she ever feel like an idiot for assuming that he was going to kiss her. Now all she did was humiliate herself and that was something that she never accomplished often.

"What time is it?" Winry inquired, deciding to change the subject; as much as she appreciated his concern, Winry didn't exactly want to tell him why she was blushing like crazy.

Fortunately for her, and including her heartbeat, Edward didn't push it. Instead, he drawled out, "It's about quarter to ten."

"We've been playing Halo for three hours?" Well, Winry didn't expect the time to fly so much as it did. Although she was more worried about what Rose would think when she got back; no doubt that she'd give her a comment revolving around 'solving the sexual tension' between them. Either that, or she could pretend to be pissed until the next day because of how worried she made her feel.

"I guess so."

"I have to get going."

Just as soon as Winry stood up on her two feet like the big girl that she was, she was pulled back down unto the couch just as swiftly. She saw that it was Edward whose hand was gripping her wrist firmly. "Why bother? You can just stay here for tonight. Rose is probably out with her new boyfriend."

"New boyfriend? She didn't tell me this."

"Well she told me."

Winry sighed, knowing that there was no use in debating with him about it. But she had mixed feelings about staying here overnight, although either way she was still going to have to face Rose. But since when did she care so much about what she thought? Ok so maybe she was afraid that Rose would turn out to be right about the tension developing between them.

"I don't want to impose…" Winry trailed off with a yawn; she mentally cursed for suddenly growing tired. If she couldn't keep it up, she might not even have the energy to walk back.

"You're not imposing. Besides. I don't want Rose to start bitching at me if she found out you passed out on the streets or something." And there he goes, covering up his nice side with a thick layer of rudeness. At least, most people would find that to be rude.

"But I don't want to go to sleep yet. Can we watch something? Pretty please?" Winry begged, her baby blue eyes sparkling and her lips twitching to form a pout. It wasn't a look that Winry would use on just anybody but it was incredibly fun to look forward to the reactions of those she used it on.

"Fine. I'll go grab some blankets. I guess you can choose the movie," Edward muttered under his breath, as he stood up to locate some blankets for Winry.

She couldn't help but smile at that; he could definitely be a sweetheart if people weren't pestering him to be nicer all the time.


	11. Cuddling is Kawaii These Days

**You guys want fluff? I'll give you fluff. XD**

**But you might hate me for the outcome of this chapter; you could blame me all you want, but tell me would it be just as fun to keep things simple for EdWin? XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 11: Cuddling is Kawaii These Days**

Instead of dreaming of future lovers and their promising proposals, Winry found that some nights whilst she lay sleeping, she dreamt of dancing baseballs and musical wrenches – which made no absolute sense to her. At the time she didn't even want to dream about crazy stuff like that and would much rather dream about Edward. Not that she'd admit that little piece of embarrassing information to anyone out loud.

However, mild teasing about the ideal dream was far from being on the list of things to be concerned about when Winry woke up. First of all, she noticed that the sunlight diligently snuck up on her thus she had to shield her eyes from the luminosity of the light. At least the storm had passed over.

Second of all, much to Winry's astonishment, she was almost half-dangling from the couch, which led her to believe that she had slept in this position all night. Yet it was far from being uncomfortable because… Winry felt lean arms resting on her waist and legs tangled up with hers. So, based on the information presented to her, Winry concluded that someone was cuddling with her.

And she knew perfectly well who that 'someone' was, therefore, her cheeks dusted themselves a pretty shade of pink. Although on the outside Winry appeared perfectly normal, but in the inside, Winry not only felt her heart was ricocheting against her chest but her organs transformed into goo. It did not help matters at all that she could feel Edward's warm breath hit the back of her neck.

Honestly, Winry was not expecting this to happen at all. Sure, they watched This Means War (note: it was amazing that Edward even had at least one romantic comedy film at all) and almost snuggled to each other on the couch whilst pigging out on popcorn. But Winry thought that she would have been left to sleep on the couch as Edward would make his way back to the paradise which was his bed.

And now they were cuddling. Well, technically Ed was cuddling her; but if he woke up, there was a chance that he'd still think that she was cuddling up to him. Not that there was a problem with that since Winry was sort of looking forward to seeing his reaction.

The question is, should Winry attempt to move? There was a chance she'd fall to her death so why not take it? Besides, if Ed did wake up now, it wasn't as if he'd not push her away anyway.

Winry slowly and carefully, without making a tremendous amount of noise, moved her body to the right. Unfortunately, even the smallest movement caught Edward in his unconscious state so his grip on her waist tightened, pulling her closer to his chest.

Who would have thought that Ed liked to cuddle in his sleep? Winry certainly didn't and it sort of made her wish that he could be this sweet when awake. But she couldn't help how she fell in love with him the way he was.

But what was she going to do? Go back to sleep? Yeah, Winry would have loved to do so but considering that Ed was holding her THIS close to his warm body… she'd be unable to head back into dream world.

Therefore the brilliant of idea of trying to fight this was tossed out the window. Winry might as well enjoy it; she did kind of feel safe and protected in his arms. Hell, she would have guessed she'd feel loved, knowing that Edward was keeping a desperate hold on her: as if he never wanted to let her go.

Before Winry even knew it, she found herself plummeting to the floor and made a painful landing unto her back; of which she didn't notice for a few seconds. Winry blinked, feeling momentarily confused before realizing that Edward had woken up.

"Good morning to you too," Winry mumbled, as she glanced toward the boy who had given her a rude wake-up call. The sight before her almost made her heart drop; strands of his blonde hair escaped his braid and framed his face, clear of any baby fat, perfectly and the blush painted on his cheeks obviously meant that he felt embarrassed about this little predicament.

Winry had to admit that he looked dead sexy in the morning.

"Ouch," Winry complained, hissing in pain as she tried to sit up with no success. "Next time can you try not to assault me? You're lucky that I haven't broken anything."

"I'm sorry, okay? It wasn't like I meant to do it on purpose!"

Winry rolled her blue eyes. "So you push people off the couch in your sleep? Classy." She was about to go on a further tangent only to be stopped by Edward's hand leaning out toward her. That made her shut up pretty quickly.

"Do you want to sit around on your ass all day or not?" Edward retorted, his cheeks burning a darker shade of crimson: for whatever reason, Winry didn't know but he was trying his best to not look at her.

There was the problem: as Winry looked down, she noticed that half of her shirt was slipping off her shoulders, thus revealing her bra (or at least half of it). If it was even possible, Winry invented a new shade of red as she quickly covered herself and accepted Edward's helping hand.

Shockingly, he guided her back to the couch and not once did he let go of her hand: which warmed Winry's heart immensely. Again, he could be a sweetheart if he wanted to and it made her wonder why he couldn't show his sweet side more often.

"I didn't see anything, okay? Just… cover yourself up before people get the wrong idea," Edward stuttered, sneaking glances in Winry's direction; from the way he was looking at her, Winry was guessing that he was assuming she'd be mad at him.

"Sorry about that," Winry said softly. Much to her astonishment, she squeezed his hand, getting his attention as she added, "You don't need to beat yourself up over it. But if you really wanted to cop a feel, then we have something to talk about."

"Like I'd try anything on you," Ed taunted, once again displaying a teasing smirk. Said the guy who didn't pull his hand away from hers.

"Oh come on, don't kid yourself. You always thought I was pretty beautiful, right? Who wouldn't try anything?" Winry flashed her pearly whites and winked. She could have sworn that it was so easy to tease Ed, seeing that he was acting sort of flustered around her.

"You're so not cute."

"What?"

Edward's bangs hid his eyes for a moment but they could not hide the ginormous blush on his cheeks. If Winry had to make a diagnostic, she'd say that he was acting like a schoolboy with a crush. And wouldn't she be happier if he had a crush on her.

"Why would you care what anyone else thinks about you?" Edward asked, as he scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "What should matter is what you think."

Winry furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "Where is this coming from?" The two of them never had a deep conversation revolving life, much less love lives, so Winry was curious to see why Edward was bringing this up. She knew how much trouble Edward was having to convey his opinion. Or maybe he was going to confess that he liked her.

"You're beautiful, alright? Damn it…" Edward cursed, his face still hidden by his long locks of straw-blonde hair. "If you really want to know what I think, that's it, okay? But don't get ahead of yourself."

Winry smiled. "You're acting awfully sweet today, Ed. Feeling alright?" It would definitely be not like him to compliment her left and right. But it helped that he would convey his feelings toward her every once in a while. It would be even better if they went beyond friendship.

And she thought that he was acting quite dense last night.

"I'm fine. Just forget I even said that, ok?" It would be awfully difficult to forget if said boy was still holding Winry's hand, but Winry was willing to admit that he'd forgotten he was doing so.

"No, I'm not going to forget. It makes me believe that you care about me like how I care about you." It was funny how she was that close to revealing her feelings for him, although if you want to get technical she did profess how much she cared for him.

"I don't… trust a lot of people, Winry," Edward admitted. "You're one of the few people that get me. Even Al thinks so."

Winry pursed her lips, before thinking of a suitable answer. "Did Al say something to you?" She was briefly wondering if the two had a conversation and seeing that Edward was still appearing uncomfortable, she'd say she guessed right.

"You could say that. But it doesn't matter what he said."

Winry playfully shoved him. "You can't just say something like that and leave me hanging. Come on, what did he say?" Not once did she think that she was pressuring him to say something that he could regret.

"You can ask him yourself if you're so damn curious," Edward retorted, but Winry was not having any of that.

"Ok, maybe I will. But tell me something at least. Do you ever want a girlfriend?" Hey, she might as well set foot a stepping stone; she was dying, sort of, to know what he had in mind. Rose might say that she was the kind of girl for him, but Winry would prefer it to hear that from his lips.

"Where is that coming from?" Ed scrunched his eyebrows, as his lips turned into a suspicious frown.

"I'm just curious. Isn't there a girl that you'd want to date?" Winry asked, trying desperately to not to sound as if she were in fact desperate. Didn't any girl pining for her crush want to play it cool?

"Do you want me to give a bullshit answer or a truthful answer?" Edward inquired coolly, giving Winry a cautious glare. This was the moment of truth and it seemed like he was afraid to answer her question properly.

"Truthful, of course."

"Honestly, I don't really care much for dating right now. I mean, all the girls that I've encountered aren't really my type." Winry felt her throat clog and tears burning in her eyes; she felt as if a little piece of her heart had broken off and could never be repaired again. But Winry tried her best to stay strong. "But I'm open to it. Are you ok, Winry?"

"What kind of girl would you be into then?" Winry blatantly ignored Edward's question as she turned away to rub her eyes free of any tears. If he asked, she could just say that she had something in her eye.

"I haven't thought about it, really."

Just like that, Winry's animosity returned and she may or may not have reacted accordingly. "So you don't even know what kind of girl you like?"

Edward snapped back, taken back by Winry's mood swing, "What's your problem now? I answered your damn question, didn't I? When I said I don't know, I don't know. Maybe someone who doesn't leap at my throat like you are right now."

This was perhaps a bad after all to tread these waters. Because Winry knew that this conversation could go badly or great and let's face it: it was her fault that it turned badly. But that never stopped her heart from aching and her lips from quivering since she was this close to bursting into tears.

Not going to lie, the truth hurt and never did Winry feel more affected by anyone's words in her entire life. When she happened to have a boy she really liked tell her to her face that she wasn't appealing enough for him, that hurt. That hurt more than getting punched in the gut three times over.

Was this what it was like to have a broken heart?

Yeah, maybe she was feeling heartbroken. And really, she ignored every rational part of her brain that kept telling her that she was blowing this out of proportion: that Edward never meant what he said.

But when did he ever lie to her before?


	12. No Prince Charming for Her

**So none of you guys hated me for what I did. Okay, so I should really learn to not assume that everybody wants a drama free story. LOL! But now we're in for serious schist and I hope you guys will let me know what you think of this chapter. :3**

**By the way, I have another EdWin project in the works and let me tell you, it will probably break your heart and send you so many feels. I can't even. But if you're just into the happily ever after kind of stories, like I usually am, then just stick with this. XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 12: No Prince Charming For Her**

It seemed that Winry was proven wrong every time she made a statement. That always hurt because she knew that she could pick up the pieces of her broken pride and put them back together. Winry was well aware that the point of life was to be happy and if she made a few mistakes along the way, then fine. But what she didn't get was how her friendship with Edward was causing such a strain on her emotional levels.

Winry honestly tried not to pity him but to respect him for what he went through; as a result she tried not to judge him on his attitude towards anyone he encountered. At first it was easy because they had some great times together. But Winry just had to open her big fat stupid mouth and this seemed to be the catalyst for the biggest fight the two of them had yet.

The funny thing was Winry didn't feel the urge to cry. She was sick of crying to be honest and the last time she had a good cleansing of her soul was at her parents' funeral. Thus Winry was assured to be a strong girl. So what did she feel at this moment? Anger. Pain. Disappointment.

But not once did she start shedding tears. Even when Winry's heart sank to the bottom of the ocean, Winry never showed her distraught feelings show. Instead, she went home without a word in Edward's direction and he never said a word to her – even though it looked like he did regret what he told her.

Now what was she supposed to do? She wasn't going to check her phone for a while – that was for sure.

"Winry? What's wrong?" Rose asked, noting the pure devestation written all over Winry's face the moment she walked into the living room.

Winry might not have had difficulties trying to hold back tears before, but now she just had the instinct to shed tears, funny enough. Or perhaps it was Rose's infinite concern for her that caused her dam of emotions to break, thereby releasing her true feelings.

She noticed that Rose did not look angry at her for staying out late at all, much to her relief. As Rose walked closer to Winry, her eyes started to leak and the look on Rose's face did not help matters at all.

But Winry didn't dare answer her yet when Rose pulled her into a hug: Rose knew her well enough to tell what she was thinking. Winry never really had to spell things out for her which proved to be quite useful in situations like these.

"Winry, what happened?" Rose inquired softly, as she began to rub her friend's back in what she hoped was a comforting motion. It was not often that Rose saw her most vulnerable side so when she did happen to cry, Rose wanted to share her burden: she wanted to also do everything in her power to make Winry feel better. She always thought Winry was a tough girl: not much would usually hurt her physically, unless she planned on wrestling for a living, and that would only leave her pride as a target.

"It's nothing major," Winry pulled away, attempting with all her might to stop the impending tears from cascading down her cheeks. "I just… I don't get Ed at all. I mean, we had a pretty good night last night, but this morning…"

Rose harrumphed, as if it were no surprise at all that Edward Elric was the cause of her sadness. "Did he say something to you?"

Just remembering his hurtful confession that he would never date her in a million years only made Winry cringe. Truthfully, she did not think she could simply repress that memory either. If he never liked her that way, he could have just told her nicely, but no: he just had to let loose his temper on her.

"It doesn't matter. Just know that he'd never go out with someone like me, okay?" Winry admitted, letting out an exasperated sigh. She was not even aware she was holding in her breath until she finished her sentence and to be honest, she felt a little better; she absolutely hated it when she'd run out of air when she was busy crying like newborn infant. Deep breathes were the key.

"I am going to have a chat with that boy," Rose promised, just as she trotted behind Winry to tie back her hair. Winry might have sighed in delight as cold fingers silently and carefully braided her hair, but this was not the right occasion. But she appreciated just the same that her hair wouldn't stick right to her sweaty epidermis.

"It sounds like you're going to maim him or something," Winry muttered, a small smile materializing on her lips.

"Much worse than that if he doesn't make up with you."

Winry sighed, feeling exhausted both physically and mentally. "I really don't want to talk about him right now though. I'm gonna need something to eat." Winry wasn't even aware of how deprived of sustenance she was until now. "Some blueberry pancakes would be nice."

"I'm right on it, your majesty."

Winry sighed, watching as Rose trotted all the way to the kitchen with a determined mindset: something that Winry envied. Don't get her wrong, she was always so focused on her automail work, but Rose's focus was completely different – just to make Winry feel better in some way.

Knowing what Rose had been through, it still amazed Winry how she could still embody the very definition of selflessness and devotion to everyone else. Maybe she was Jesus reincarnated, but Winry would never dwell on that thought for very long.

"Tell me when they're ready," Winry declared, as she decided that distracting her broken heart would be the best thing at the moment. As much as she appreciated Rose's company, she more or less decided to have some alone time right now. She definitely was not in the mood to read anything, so her medical textbooks were definitely out.

But what about movies? Yeah, that sounded good. If Winry felt like it (or rather, if she wanted to make the effort) she could watch High School Musical. Ironically of course since Rose enjoyed it so much, but if one were to be honest of that sort of thing, Winry could say those kinds of movies were her guilty pleasure.

But alas, as much as she wanted to see Zac Effron back in his younger days, Winry wasn't up for it.

Before Winry could even contemplate whether or not comedy was what she wanted to see, a not so subtle ringtone called out to her; Learning to Fly by The Foo Fighters interrupted her deep contemplation, and Winry wondered if it was Ed trying to contact her.

However, as she took her time reading the screen, she sighed in relief knowing that it wasn't him, but it was her grandmother.

"Hi Grandma," Winry greeted, trying to sound cheerful; she worried her grandmother Pinako enough sometimes, with all the all-nighters and lack of appetite – which equated to working harder on prosthetics.

She wasn't the typical grandma who would spoil you constantly in love and affection, but there were moments when she would indulge you in that kind of attention. She was definitely the stern type but she proved to raise Winry well enough with her parenting strategies. Pinako never constantly called Winry either when she left for the summer, but she never forgot to keep in touch either.

"How are you, Winry?"

"I'm doing great actually and Rose is too. We haven't been really doing too much but –"

"Winry, what's wrong?" Yeah, there was no actual point in keeping secrets from her. Although Pinako never pried too much into personal matters, she always seemed to have a feeling that Winry wasn't as content with life as she was letting on.

Tears sprung to her eyes, but not before she collapsed on her bed, lying down on her stomach. "Am I pretty enough, Grandma?" She honestly didn't know how else she'd go about it.

"What are you talking about? Why are you asking me this?" It was Pinako's way of saying that she was the most beautiful girl in the world and Winry had a feeling she wasn't just saying that because she was her only grandchild.

"I met someone, Granny. For a while I thought he liked having me around but it turns out he doesn't." Truthfully it was a little uncomfortable talking about her love life with her grandma, seeing that they never conversed about it before.

"Did you say something to this boy?"

"Ok, it was technically my fault, but you should be taking my side on this."

Why was it that Winry felt that she was being lectured as if she were a toddler who stole a cookie from the cookie jar?

"If you want me to be honest with you, Winry, I'm assuming he's not used to being coerced into relationships." Again, why did she have to make it sound like she was Dr. Phil?

Winry let out a frustrated sigh. "I know that. Rose told me that too. But he can act like a jerk one moment and the next… it's like he's a living light switch."

She could tell that Pinako was smoking on the other end of the line, if her breath wasn't anything to go by. She could also hear her chuckle in amusement at Winry's clever use of a simile. "Perhaps that's just the way he is. Some boys just have their own way of opening up to people."

"I guess. So what should I do?"

"When was the last time you've talked to him?"

Winry sweat-dropped, sheepishly rubbing the back of her head. "This morning. That's when we had our fight."

"You mean to tell me that you've spent the night with him? Did you use protection? I mean, honestly, you kids these days."

Winry's face probably burned even darker than tomatoes because of her grandmother's implications. No doubt that she would never be able to repress this conversation from this point forward; not only did she feel like she wanted to cringe, she wanted to go crawl in a hole and die.

"NO! We didn't do anything! We're not even dating!" Winry squealed, not at all bothering to keep her voice down.

It wasn't as if she thought about seeing Edward naked, much less actually doing the nasty with him. Besides, she wasn't even sixteen yet: there should be no possibility of her contemplating engaging in something like that anyway.

"I was just asking, there is no need to get upset about it."

This conversation definitely made the list of the top ten of ones she never expected to go downhill. Winry should have figured that they would talk about something like this sooner or later. "So what should I do?" She was planning on ignoring Edward for a certain amount of time, but it wouldn't hurt to get some input from someone who was no doubt wiser and far more mature.

"I don't suppose talking to him would be an option?"

"You're expecting me to go up to him first?" Winry scrunched her eyebrows whilst her lips formed a small frown. If anyone should be apologizing to anyone, Edward was going to make things right with her. Not the other way around. "If anything, Edward should be saying sorry to me, Granny."

"Did you say Edward?"

"Uh, yeah… why?"

"Edward Elric?"

Winry's anger dissipated completely into confusion, not at all understanding her grandmother's odd questions. "Yes, I'm talking about Edward Elric." How could she possibly know if they were talking of the same one? It was almost as if Pinako knew exactly who he was… it was weird.

"Granny, what's going on?" Winry inquired, since her grandma did not answer her, which made it completely suspicious. In all honesty, she didn't even know what to think.

"Oh, it's nothing, Winry. Anyways, what were you and Rose up to?"

Given that Pinako hardly ever dodged Winry's questions, it was the first time that she had done so. A plethora of questions were running around in Winry's brain, but she dared not ask them. Not yet anyways. And not even when her parents died did Pinako attempt to shield her from that. So what was she covering up now?


	13. Accidentally in Love

**Who wants more drama? I do! xD I am so glad that you guys are just loving what I'm putting EdWin through. LOL. And 61 reviews? Thanks so much guys; your input is appreciated to death! **

**And just know that I've listened to a plethora of love songs, but the one that came to mind for this chapter is the one and only Accidentally in Love by Counting Crows. So I recommend listening to that! XD**

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter; I'd love to know your thoughts!**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 13: Accidentally in Love**

"Why are we watching this?" Winry snorted, almost spilling all of her Pepsi on her blankets as she tried to control her laughter. Easier said than done. Tragically, she could not say the same for the scattered popcorn all over the floor but that was so not her fault.

Watching Will Ferrell lose his shit turned out to be one of the most hilarious things Winry had ever witnessed. She knew she should be thanking Rose for picking out The Other Guys; there was no doubt that nothing else could ever have cheered her up within ten minutes. Well, if she were to be honest, she almost choked on her popcorn during certain lines; it made Winry swear that she should swear off the fatty goodness which was popcorn until her stomach calmed down. It wasn't as if her stomach got bloated often. Only when she pigged out on popcorn.

"Because Will Ferrell has the power to make you feel better. When you feel better, I feel better," Rose vaguely explained.

"Now you tell me that he's some sort of wizard. Fantastic," Winry snorted sarcastically, but it wasn't out of spite.

"But don't you feel better?" Rose prodded, right before she took a sip of her own soda.

Winry pursed her lips, contemplating on what to say for a moment. Granted that she spent most of the day pampering herself: painting her toenails, going shopping and even trimming her hair to just past her shoulders had been enough to raise her mood considerably. Not once did she check her phone in case HE decided to text her (not that he would) so Winry did feel proud of herself for taking her mind off it.

"Yeah, I do." Who wouldn't feel pleasant in wearing short-shorts and a Batman tank top? Ok, maybe she did have a bubble bath earlier, but still: Winry felt like she could handle whatever life would throw at her. And getting her hair cut definitely helped matters as well.

"I knew it. May the power of Will Ferrell compel you." Winry burst into laughter, after hearing Rose bursting out into praise.

"Are you ready to take Will Ferrell as your lord and saviour?" it was Rose's turn to choke on her popcorn, causing her cheeks to turn red from the loud giggles she happened to let out.

"Oh God," Rose burst into a fit of laughter, as if the image of Will Ferrell as Jesus Christ was possibly the funniest or mentally scarring image she'd ever seen.

Winry might have gone on a ridiculous tangent of any Will Ferrell joke, if not for the sudden interruption of her phone buzzing. A sense of dread temporarily hung over her like a cloak but she reasoned with herself that it couldn't possibly who she thought it was. Edward was probably keen on avoiding her anyways.

Would she be lying if she said that she wasn't hoping that he'd text her? If her heartrate was anything to go by, then she supposed she was lying, given that Edward had texted her. Six times. In the past three hours.

Winry told herself not to get her hopes up; he might apologize for being so harsh with her, but he probably wouldn't apologize for saying that she wasn't his type. Winry knew that she had to accept that but a part of her was set against it.

"Winry? Something wrong?"

Winry ignored Rose, as she decided to find out what Edward had to say. She was doing her part perfectly in terms of ignoring him, but what if he did want to talk to her?

Winry tried her best to hide her pleased smile as she read the first text in quick efficiency.

_Damn it, Winry, I'm sorry._

Though he had not come to apologize to her in person, Winry still felt touched that he texted it to her anyways. The second text, in her opinion, sounded more romantic to her and she wondered if he was trying to build up on that.

_I didn't mean what I said before. Just talk to me._ Much to her slight disappointment, the last text was not as romantic as its predecessor, but Winry could detect how desperate he was when he sent it to her.

The other texts practically summed up how sorry he was and how he was an idiot for hurting her feelings. Not to mention how he wanted to talk to her as soon as possible. As much as Winry hoped that would be the case, would she indulge him in his desires?

If she were to say no to his request, even she was aware of how stupid she was acting. Winry knew fully well that she couldn't ignore him forever; no doubt that Winry would regret it if she did.

But what was she supposed to say? Did she feel like seeing him at the moment? Winry didn't want this little rift between them at the moment to ruin their friendship, but Winry still felt like she could avoid seeing him a little longer.

"Is it Edward?"

Winry sighed, nodding her head. "He says he wants to talk. He says he's sorry too."

Rose was surprised and dared not hide it, thus confusing Winry further. "Well I'll be. I know you might not believe me but he's not the kind of guy who would apologize to just anybody."

Winry should have anticipated this kind of remark from her, but she was astonished all the same. Hell, she was tempted to go that far as to not believe anything that Rose told her. It would sound insane to just about anybody that Edward, as stubborn as he was, would recognize his own faults and would even apologize. Maybe it meant more if he didn't do it often, but she supposed that was the way he was. Clearly Winry knew she was having difficulties grasping that sometimes; she was used to being surrounded by people who had no problem professing their troubles and the like. It was completely frustrating.

But she loved him regardless. She was in love with him and there was no denying it now. Winry loved his flowing locks of blonde hair that he kept in a tidy braid, she loved his eyes, the contours of his face, his height (yes, even that) and even his automail leg. She loved everything that came along with him, in terms of looks. But in terms of personality, she just adored his sweet and sensitive side. She admired how he prioritized his time with friends and family; if only Winry had that kind of loyalty towards her family.

Holy crap, Winry was in love.

"Winry, before you give me an unsatisfying profound conclusion of an answer, would you mind telling me what's making you blush like a little schoolgirl?" Damn it – Rose noticed her blush. There was no way in hell that she was going to let this go now.

And why did the thought of confessing to her how she truly felt about Edward make her feel embarrassed? "I... I think I might love him," she whispered, as if she was trying to convince herself more than she had to persuade Rose.

"I knew it. You do love him," Rose smiled as if she had known this was to be the outcome all along. Winry just had to pretend she hadn't noticed the smug look plastered on her feminine features.

"Ok, fine, maybe I do love him. What's the big deal?" Winry tossed her hands up in the air in a surrendering motion. It would explain why it hurt so much when he just rejected her like that, not to mention how she kept thinking about him every second of the day. Except this afternoon didn't really count because she allowed distraction.

"From what you told me the first time you visited me is that you'd never fall in love with anyone shorter than you," Rose snickered, seeing the flustered expression Winry wore on her face like a mask.

"That's what you're taking away from this?" Winry rolled her eyes, as she shoved more popcorn into her mouth. She didn't care if she looked like a barbarian with no sense of propriety, which did sort of grate Rose's nerves as she did this on purpose.

"I find it adorable, to be honest."

"Well I guess the joke's on me then," Winry answered slowly, trying hard not to sound annoyed.

"I'm sorry, okay? But Winry, I knew that you'd be the first one to admit their feelings." Yeah, Winry supposed that Rose was confident enough to believe that.

"It's not like it'll make any difference at all." Winry wrapped her blanket around her, barely able to suppress her shivers; since when was it so freaking cold in Rose's living room? She hated having to undergo the hot/cold binary system every day and night, which made Winry miss Risembool even more; her hometown for the most part wasn't too hot nor too cold, given that sunshine was the usual forecast, though there were few instances of which rain was expected.

"It will make plenty of difference. This boy wouldn't even know what true love felt like," Rose sighed, almost as if she were a parent chastising her little one. "I'm guessing that he's confused about how he feels about you."

"We talked about this before. He thinks that he can act like a sweetheart one day and end up being a jackass the next." Winry was not even certain if she could wait for him forever to make up his mind. But Winry was aware that she shouldn't judge a book by its cover; people did have the ability to surprise others. Sometimes for the best and other times for the worst.

"I know we talked about it. But in time, Edward will see that you're the best thing that's happened to him."

Oddly enough, Winry didn't feel like crying her heart out, but she was anxious as to what she would do about her current situation. "I hope so. So should I just talk to him?"

Rose shrugged her shoulders, treating this like if it weren't her problem. "It depends. How many texts did he send you?"

"Six." If it were over ten, Winry would be amused and touched at the same time.

"I'm guessing he misses you. But if you want to continue shunning him, that's totally up to you," Rose suggested.

"I thought you were on my side on this," Winry complained, a hint of sadness evident in her voice.

Rose, who was casually dressed in a pink tank top and flannel pajama bottoms, shrugged. "I am, but it's not like I'm the one wearing the pants in this relationship."

Winry blew air out of her lips; she had to admit that Rose was right. There was only so much that she could do for her and if it meant that Winry had to fix things herself, she'd stay out of it. If situations were reversed, Winry knew deep down she would do the same thing.

"What if he doesn't ever feel the same way?" Winry knew the answer to that question, but she couldn't help but ask it anyway. Rose was wise enough to answer, given that she had been in relationships before.

"Then it won't matter." Winry looked up to see Rose giving her an unreadable expression. "Because you've been happy without boys in your life and that can still be the path you choose. I don't want to sound cheesy, but if this doesn't work out then you'll always have me with you."

Winry requited Rose's small smile with one of her own signature grins. She was cheesy but Rose spoke out of the heart; that meant a lot more than anything else in Winry's opinion. "Thanks. But I think you'd be happier if Edward and I do become a thing."

"So does this mean you're not going to coward your way out of this?"

"That's a great way of putting it. But yes, I'll talk to him."

Some say that this was a fitting way to put an end to the conversation; probably even ironic if you'd think about it long enough, seeing that Rose and Winry both heard three, obnoxiously loud knocks on her door. Which could only mean one thing. It meant that it had to be Edward and he was on a mission, as cringe-worthy as that sounded.

Winry herself felt a pang of fear cloud her mind for a moment right before brushing it off. She could handle seeing him again, despite her earlier argument with her conscience.


	14. Kiss, Kiss Fall in Love

**Your feedback is what keeps me going, so thanks so much, darlings! :3**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 14: Kiss, Kiss, Fall in Love**

To be fair, Winry felt conflicted. A nasty, dreary part of her wanted to ignore Edward for a little while longer, but the more rational piece of her personality was all for making up with him.

On the other hand, it was far too late to coward her way out of this, given that she subconsciously rose unto her feet to answer the door. It was sad to say that she was briskly walking towards the door, positively excited as if she was a child who was set on chasing an ice cream truck. Winry was aware of how well she expressed her inner emotions; she was rather terrible at playing cards and hardly managed to put on a good poker face.

As she opened the door, Winry could feel it deep within her that there was nothing to be frightened of. She was perfectly aware of how her high her heart soared and she didn't try to contain it. Although she did put on a polite smile, of which it did reach her azure eyes, for the boy standing before her.

Edward.

"Hi," Winry muttered softly, as her blue orbs connected with his golden hues. She felt as though she were to melt to the floor like a soft serve ice cream on a blistering hot day and it was because of the way he looked at her.

Although it had been hours since they have seen each other, it felt like it had been eternity. But it did not excuse the fact that Winry thought he looked extremely handsome, with the way he cleaned himself up nicely with a loose-collared black shirt and jeans. Winry also didn't fail to notice how tired he appeared as well as the plethora of emotions written on his visage.

"You never answered my texts," Edward stated, though not harshly; Winry could tell that he was more worried than he was furious.

"I'm sorry about that. I was busy all day with Rose," Winry explained cautiously but she was truly genuine. She was reasonable enough to believe that there was no purpose in continuing this silly fight with Edward.

Edward released a breath, but even Winry could tell that he was far from being relieved. Judging by the way he crumpled his hands into fists, how his posture was stiff and by the faint blush on his cheeks, she'd say that he was troubled by something. Extremely troubled.

"You… you look nice," Edward stuttered, his voice cracking as his eyes flickered to her hair which brushed just past her shoulders.

Winry blinked; she wasn't at all expecting him to compliment her on her appearance and she did feel flattered. Immensely. This was coming from the guy who had just told her that he wouldn't go out with her in a million years. A part of her was hesitant to accept this compliment and she knew she had every good reason to.

"Thanks." If Edward wasn't going to go straight to the point, things between them will probably get awkward. There was nothing that Winry loathed more than having to go through awkward silences: that generally meant it was one step closer to a torn relationship.

"Listen Winry...I didn't mean what I said earlier. I wasn't expecting you to ask me about that kind of thing." Edward took a moment to swallow as well as catching his breath before continuing. Winry guessed that he rehearsed this, given that he looked confused about her reaction. It was almost like he was expecting her to hate him and that was something that Winry knew she couldn't do.

"I'm sorry." Those two words meant a lot to Winry, as she suddenly remembered Rose saying that it took a lot for him to open up to other people; Winry found herself forgiving Edward. Though she doubted she would get an apology even more sincere than this.

Nonetheless, Winry felt content. "Thanks, Edward. You're forgiven." Truthfully Winry didn't know what else to say; they might as well just put this incident behind them and start anew. As friends. And maybe that's all they will ever be. But no matter how much it hurt, Winry knew Rose was right: she didn't need a man to make her happy and maybe it was kind of shallow to think that Edward was the one to do that. There were plenty of other fish in the sea, right?

Much to her irritation this thought didn't soothe her as much as she thought it would.

Winry cleared her throat, noting how she still had her head stuck up in the clouds. "Did you want to come in? Rose and I were watching The Other Guys; you can join us if you want." She was pretty coherent most of the time but fate was not on her side that evening, given that she almost stuttered.

Especially since Edward was giving her this smoldering expression, leaving her flustered. Excruciatingly so.

**:3 :3 :3**

Rose seemed to have sensed the mild awkwardness surrounding both Ed and Winry, so she didn't dare say anything to embarrass the both of them. But nevertheless, she smiled knowingly as they sat down together on the couch – with some distance between them mind you. Rose, as far as she could tell as she studied them from afar, nodded to herself in approval as she noted how much more relaxed Winry was and how relieved Edward was.

Rose was a total pro when it came to these things. She paid more attention to small details that Winry might deem as insignificant and in the end, it always worked out for the best. Even if the road towards the typical happy ending was rough and Rose knew that fully well when it came to her two best friends.

If they both pulled their heads out of their asses, they would have gotten together by now. But Rose was also aware that love took as much time as it needed to develop. If there was anything that she learned from watching chick flicks that was the piece of advice that she tried to put forth into her life.

"What is that look for?" Edward snorted, narrowing his own eyes in suspicion as he locked eye contact with Rose. He had a general idea of what Rose was deluding about but it didn't hurt to have her say it out loud.

"Nothing," Rose giggled, not attempting to bother how giddy she felt. As much as she would have wanted to see her fine work come to light, even Rose knew from her instincts that Ed and Winry needed to spend some time alone. Despite the miniscule part of Rose that was annoyed that her girl's day out with Winry was put to an end for the time being.

The awkwardness that exuded from her friends could not be simply solved, no matter how badly Rose wanted to help.

"I think I'm gonna head to bed," Rose yawned. "I'll leave you two at it. As long as you don't do anything inappropriate." Rose was satisfied to see how Winry's cheeks darkened in embarrassment and Ed was simply flabbergasted.

As Rose briskly headed off to her room, Winry was left to her own thoughts, as was Edward. Winry was perfectly aware what Rose was trying to accomplish; despite what she said earlier, she seemed to be perfectly content to leave the two of them alone. The last time they ended up alone was earlier that day and somehow Winry managed to ruin the 'romantic' atmosphere by being too persistent. As much as she liked him around it still felt awkward.

Winry no doubt assumed Edward was thinking the same thing, given the look on his face was unreadable.

But knowing that he never meant what he said to her earlier gave Winry much needed comfort and an immense amount of relief. That had to mean there was hope for them yet but Winry quickly reminded herself for the tenth time that it shouldn't matter so much what their relationship was. Though that rational side of her conscience hardly convinced her; Winry, as cheesy as it sounded, more or less listened to her heart on such matters.

Winry also pondered on whether or not she should reveal her true feelings for him; she had every right to be worried if he rejected her, but given that Edward was implying that he'd date her… But maybe he never did fall in love with her. Maybe it was just a crush on his part.

This was enough to give her serious heart cramps for the rest of her life. Thus Winry knew she shouldn't try to over analyze this. Look what good it had done for her.

"Winry, you're still not mad at me. Are you?" Winry let out collective sigh, before turning to face Edward, who was staring at the floor; not once sneaking peaks in her direction. Winry could only assume that he still felt guilty but she wouldn't give him any reason to.

"No, I'm not. If anything, I was the one who made it a big deal." Things could have happened differently if Winry's hint of envious behaviour hadn't unleashed itself. Would it be healthy to admit that she didn't like the idea of Edward going out with other women? Yes. But it certainly wouldn't be healthy if she was the controlling type.

Winry definitely had it bad for him. If she were back home with Granny, she'd be able to satisfy her tense needs with prosthetic work. However, since she wasn't, Winry had to make do with shopping, bracelet weaving (a pastime that was embedded unto her throughout her childhood years) and Will Ferrell.

"Damn it, just let me apologize," Edward snapped, finally staring straight into Winry's eyes. Any hint of anger or frustration dissipated entirely as he awkwardly scratched the back of his head.

"And I appreciated that. I'm not mad at you," Winry answered back hotly. She sighed, seeing how Edward's facial expression was still equating to guilt. She had a feeling that this kind of thing never happened to him and she understood that perfectly.

"I'm not very good at this, ok? I don't have a lot of friends. Especially girls."

Before Winry knew what she was doing, she tentatively placed her right hand on top of his knee; Winry was well aware of how bold she was and she could only hope that Edward wouldn't call her out on it.

Much to her surprise, Edward covered her hand with his warm, calloused one; it caused a jolt of pleasantness to run down her spine and not only that, but her heart skipped a beat. Winry would never get used to this kind of contact, no matter if it was small or not. Nevertheless, Winry welcomed the warmth that he offered her.

"It's fine. Back home in Risembool I never had a lot of girlfriends either," Winry said simply; she wasn't at all sensitive over how society assigned gender roles left and right. Winry herself liked prosthetic work and that happened to be a male dominated field, even in the twenty-first century. And here Winry thought that guys were confusing.

"Is that what you think of me? A friend?" The stare that he was giving Winry almost melted her heart entirely. Gone was the look of a frightened boy, scared to be punished for something that he had done accidentally. Replacing that stare came a look of pure… mesmerisation? Curiosity? Whatever it was Winry was certain that she'd be swooning.

Now how should she respond? If anything, Winry was right to assume this was the perfect moment to tell him how she felt. A part of her wanted to run away and never look back but that would make Rose's efforts of matchmaking fail miserably.

"I really like you," Winry blurted, probably even quicker than Speedy Gonzalez being electrocuted. "I don't know why but I just do. When I first met you I didn't want anything to do with you. But you surprised me. The best way of course." Oh God, where was she going with this? She was expecting to have her confession be rehearsed but nothing made her cringe more than how she was saying things off the top of her head.

"And yet I made you cry," Edward said softly; Winry's heart lurched as she felt his thumb rubbing small circles on her skin. Again, she felt delight course through her veins and Winry didn't know what to make of it. Maybe it was just her hormones. Yeah, definitely the hormones.

"It's no big deal, you idiot," Winry sighed. "If you want to make it up to me then get me some earrings or something," she joked, tucking stray hairs behind her ear.

Edward smirked and at that Winry was pleased that she had managed to make him smile. Even if it was for a moment. "Don't expect anything too fancy."

"Are you implying that I'm high maintenance?" Winry clicked her tongue, rolling her eyes in fake disapproval; hell, she even threw in a frown for good measure.

Edward's cheeky little grin expanded as he shrugged his shoulders. "Rose told me plenty about you. I wouldn't be surprised if you were."

Winry, in a fit of playful rage, took her hand off his knee and she tried to ignore the disappointment she felt when she pulled away. Maybe she was starting to get used to this physical closeness. "Maybe you're the one who's a diva."

As if they were re-enacting a soap opera, Edward's reaction was timed perfectly. "You know how to break a guy's heart." And here Winry thought that he had a sarcastic type of humour. She was right.

"I wouldn't be an expert on that."

"You did say you haven't had any boyfriends, right?"

Winry snorted. "I might have mentioned it once or twice." She paused, suddenly noting the expression of pure contentment cloud his features. "You look relieved about that."

"What if I am?" Edward hissed back defensively as he crossed his arms and turned away from Winry. If she did not know any better, but in this case she most certainly did, Winry would suggest that he was blushing. But she could hardly care about that: what really captured her attention was how he admitted that he was relieved she had no boyfriend.

If that did not reveal to her that he certainly liked her romantically, Winry did not know what would.


	15. I Want You to Want Me

**I must seem like the ultimate troll to you; most of you guys didn't appreciate how I didn't make Ed and Winry kiss, given that the chapter title was Kiss, Kiss Fall in Love. LOL! **

**But I apologize for how long it's been since I updated. I can't guarantee the next time I'll update, but nevertheless I treasure all the reviews you gave me! :D**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 15: I Want You to Want Me**

"Then I'd be happy too," Winry proclaimed, unable to hide the beaming smile from forming on her lips, which incidentally reached her azure eyes. At this moment Winry was certain that her heartbeat ricocheted in her chest and giddiness manifested itself throughout her entire being; there were no words to describe how ecstatic she felt.

It meant the world to her to know that Winry was loved unconditionally although a part of her was still doubting it; Edward might be attracted to her but did that mean that he loved her? Maybe he only wanted one thing from her, but Winry threw that possibility away as she remembered how he saved her from Greed at that party the other night. Despite being a complete jackass sometimes, Edward knew how to really treat a girl; he knew better than to try anything that would make him tarnish his reputation.

"Of course you would," Edward muttered, also not able to stop his cheeks from painting themselves crimson. Winry would like to assume that he was like a schoolboy with his first crush; somehow that thought was pleasant to think about. Rose did say that he never got involved with anyone before.

If he never had any romantic relationships before, this would be his first.

She would be the first girl that stole his heart. She would be the first girl to love him for who he was. She would be the first girl that he wanted.

"So what does this mean now?" Somehow Winry would feel completely reassured if she could hear the words coming from Edward's lips.

She didn't know how else to convey how she felt. She thought she was being overt with her feelings but what if Edward didn't get it? What if he was completely dense about her feelings? Again, Winry couldn't consider that thought either because she was perfectly aware that any rational guy could comprehend it when some girl was cuddling with them.

For a brief second, Winry wondered if this was going too fast for her. Sure, she knew how unconditionally in love with him she felt, but was she expecting to go straight into a serious relationship?

Now that she thought about it, Winry started to have doubts: mostly revolving around whether or not she had good enough reasons to date Edward. But at this point it was too late to turn back now. It should be fairly obvious how she expressed her feelings and she could only wait to see what Edward would do.

"You're really gonna make me say it?" Edward asked, turning his eyes away from Winry's as if her bright hues lit him on fire upon instant contact. Winry noted with amusement how flustered he appeared at this point, probably just as uncomfortable as if he was forced to recite Shakespeare.

"Of course I am," Winry said simply. She began to twiddle her thumbs as a means of distraction and a way to calm herself down; no doubt she wasn't as composed as she looked; there were a plethora of various emotions swimming around in her conscience at the moment and it was a surprise to find that she hadn't lost her cool once. But that could easily change, depending on what Edward was going to say.

"I thought you would have figured it out by now, but maybe you're not as smart as you look."

Winry, on impulse, smacked Edward's head with a pillow. She should have expected that he would ruin the mood by having fun at her expense. "I'm pretty sure I'm smarter than you any day," Winry retorted confidently, taking solace in the fact that Edward looked disgruntled by her unexpected attack against him.

However, Winry had not expected Edward to express his own feelings in the form of a kiss; because before she knew it, warm lips crashed unto hers, thus igniting fireworks to set off within Winry's body. Again, she felt a variety of emotions: ranging from astonishment to confusion, as his hands clung to her shoulders almost as if he were afraid to let go. Nonetheless it was a kiss that Winry couldn't describe.

From what she could understand, Winry felt like she was in paradise; her heart pulsated against her chest, dancing around, leaping for joy whilst the rest of her body had become paralyzed altogether.

This was her first kiss.

This was her first ever kiss with a boy; she never once pictured it ever to go down like this.

Winry reciprocated his kiss with equal enthusiasm, despite how unexperienced she was. Snapping herself out of her romantic daydreams, her hands clutched the back of his head, digging her fingers through his soft golden-blonde hair. Winry pulled him closer to her, needing to feel his body mold against hers. To be tangled with hers.

And said kiss had escalated just as quickly as it began; Winry moaned when she felt Edward's lips glided over hers. Yet it was the way he looked at her when he kissed her for the first time; his eyes, one of her favourite physical traits about him, shone with desire (despite them being half-lidded) and that caused her heart to glow.

Winry was perfectly aware how red her face was turning and she could probably say the same thing for Edward. Although she was not aware of how relaxed she was the moment he kissed her, which was quite surprising even for her.

If anything, Winry truly appreciated how gentle he was with her, despite the desperation of the kiss.

Before she knew it, he pulled away, panting slightly. Winry also tried to catch her breath when she slowly drew her hands away from his neck, but not once did she break eye contact with Edward.

She could say that she was left enchanted.

"So that's what it means…" It would be hard-pressed to say that she couldn't hide a smile; she was practically overjoyed of what just happened, despite it being completely unexpected. "What is it?" Winry furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, noting that Edward looked deep in thought.

"That wasn't your first kiss was it?" Winry widened her eyes in shock, her jaw dropping, knowing she had the answer to the question judging by the anxious expression written on his face.

"Shut up," Edward muttered, though his tone of voice lacked malice and defensiveness. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that was your first too."

At this point Winry could very well see how the tips of his ears turned pink; if that didn't signal how anxious he was, Winry didn't know what she'd say about it. "It was, actually. Did you forget about the part where I said I never had any boyfriends?"

"I didn't forget."

"Sure you didn't." Winry paused for a minute before continuing, "How long have you wanted to kiss me for?" Pray tell that it wasn't an instinctual last-minute decision but something that Edward wanted to do because he liked her.

"Does it matter?" Was all Edward said and Winry couldn't place his tone of voice.

"Yes, it does matter. So I know how you feel about me." How Winry managed to be calm and collected about this conversation was beyond her comprehension. But she was glad that she wasn't acting awkward about it: otherwise she wouldn't be getting anywhere if she continued to avoid the subject.

"I… I don't hate you," Edward blurted, making Winry raise both of her eyebrows. "I like you, alright?" Edward hissed, running his fingers through his hair in a frustrating motion. "Shit. I'm not… I'm not good at this kind of stuff. I don't know how much Rose told you about me but I've never done this before."

"I'm not expecting you to know everything about girls, you idiot," Winry sighed.

"What'd you say?!"

"I said you're an idiot. I'm not expecting you to charm the pants off me; I just want you to be yourself because I like you the way you are," Winry explained. And somehow, this conversation turned back into a serious atmosphere.

"Well then answer me this. How long did you like me?" Edward inquired, clearly not used to being praised by anyone – especially Winry.

"To be honest, when I first met you I thought you were a total jerk. But I can't really say when I started liking you. What about you?" Winry tried so hard not to look dishevelled when she confessed this to him. She was partly afraid of making a fool of herself when she told these things to him. She wouldn't be surprised if Edward thought she was acting like an idiot.

"I can't really say…"

Winry playfully swatted his shoulder. "You're such a jerk. But knowing you, you probably liked me from the beginning, right?"

"Don't get ahead of yourself," Edward replied flatly, causing Winry to roll her eyes.

"But seriously, when did you realize you liked me?" Winry asked; there was no way in hell she was letting this subject leave her grasp. If anything, Winry craved to know the answer: it would mean a lot to her knowing that she had been the object of his desires for a certain amount of time.

"I'm still not saying," Edward taunted, crossing his arms, enjoying the look of disappointment that flashed in Winry's eyes.

"But I mean a lot to you, right?" Winry asked softly; all hints of annoyance completely erased from the contours of her face.

Edward drew in a sharp breath, not expecting the turn of this discussion; he was still expecting her to pester him with questions and not a deep question like that. "Yeah. You do."

If it was even possible, Winry's smile spread further, though she unknowingly set off a firecracker in Edward's heart. Not that he would ever tell her how much she affected him.


	16. We'd Be Happy Forever

**I love you all for your kind words! They mean a lot to me! :D**

**I kind of have a feeling how long I want this story to be; I mean, it's originally supposed to be 20 chapters, but I came up with interesting plot twists and no doubt that will take at least three-five more chapters. So, you might expect this to end at either 24 or 25. Might, being the operative word. **

**I also uploaded my newest EdWin story, granted it's short AND it's sort of a melancholy story (EVENTUALLY), I'd appreciate it if you took a look at it! Thank you!**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 16: We'd Be Happy Forever**

"You look…"

"Disturbing?"

"No, that wasn't what I was going to say." Slight pause, meaning the silence itself was slightly awkward. "I was going to say that you look happier. More than the past few days I would say."

Winry felt her cheeks flush in embarrassment, as she attempted to eat the remaining food on her plate. Yet Winry couldn't deny Rose's words; she couldn't hide her happiness even if she tried. Winry couldn't put into words how joyous she was – though she was probably giddier than the time she was permitted to repair automail for the first time.

The joy she felt when successfully repairing someone's prosthetic arm dimmed in comparison to how Winry felt after Edward asked her out; which had been last night. Winry recalled how nervous he was but Winry thought that he was quite sweet about it.

He was far from being a chauvinistic, obnoxious prick that Winry might or might not have thought about him the first time they met.

Though when she knew what he was going to ask her, that didn't stop her heart from ricocheting in her chest nor did the anticipation stop her stomach contents turning into a pretty pile of gushy goo. In a good way, obviously.

"Did something happen?" Rose asked slyly, as she took a sip of her orange juice.

"He asked me out," Winry confessed. It was still a little bit too much to take in; it all seemed to happen so fast and furious, Tokyo drift. But all joking aside, Winry didn't think that this would happen. She did, after all, spend most of the night in a giddy mood, clearly too excited to even attempt to sleep. But her reaction was completely natural and normal. Not only did she continuously look forward to their relationship taking off, but the fact that he kissed her completely reassured Winry that she meant a lot to him. Which meant that he did not find her repulsive or ugly, in fact Edward was more than willing to tolerate her presence.

But was it a little bit sad that she couldn't get to sleep until three in the morning? If Edward knew, he most likely would laugh at her – because that was his pastime, given that she might have said something the previous night that may or may not have made him giggle.

"I knew it!" Rose proclaimed proudly, with a goofy smile spreading on her lips. "I always knew that would happen. I did say I had faith in you all along."

Winry pursed her lips, tilting her head to the side as she gave her friend a skeptic expression. "Clearly you forgot the time when you told me that my happiness was your number one priority." Rose didn't seem to agree with that statement, thus, Winry clarified even further, "Whether or not I had Edward as a boyfriend."

Rose shrugged, dipping a slice of her French toast into her maple syrup. "Everything turned out for the best," Rose snorted. "You guys are together now and no one has to suffer countless evenings with emotional heart cramps."

"I don't have them every night," Winry insisted, despite how Rose immediately rolled her eyes in disbelief.

"Sure you don't."

"I don't!"

Rose gave Winry a skeptical stare; nothing could ever get passed her. "I'm pretty sure last year you were upset that My Chemical Romance broke up; I've heard you cry late at night. So don't tell me you never had heart cramps."

Okay, it was true that when MCR announced they were splitting up in 2013, Winry was upset but not upset to the point she'd call it depressing. But in all honesty it was just as devastating as the time Winry forgot to give her grandmother's dog Den breakfast one summer morning.

"That's a moot point."

"But seriously, it's about time you got together," Rose said, the contours of her face still emanating approval. No doubt she'd still be this ecstatic for the next few weeks.

"We might not even last," Winry retorted; she wasn't the type of person to be pessimist, but she was being realistic. They might be romantically involved now but the future could hold many, many possibilities. Not to mention how uncertain it can be.

"How can you say that?" Rose demanded. In many ways, it was like Winry just insulted her one true pairing. And that was the last thing most people did not want to do if it meant facing off against Rose. Even when they were kids Rose used to ship Winry with one of the members of the Backstreet Boys. Winry never let that go for the past several years simply because she thought it was hilarious.

"I'm just saying. I'll be heading back home at the end of August; Risembool's like… three hours away." Did it sound like an excuse? It might have sounded like one.

"So you're saying you won't make a long distance relationship work?"

"I didn't say that!" It wasn't like Winry didn't want to make it work, because she did. But what if he met someone when she was gone? What if he wouldn't be interested in putting in an effort to Skype her and call her? Winry, if you couldn't tell already, was scared by that possibility. Because from the past few weeks she had been here, she finally got what she sought out for and she didn't want to lose that. But life could be unfair. Her past experiences was plenty proof of that.

"What are you afraid of? I know for certain that Edward loves you."

Winry knew she was trying her best to cheer her up but Winry's insecurity right now was getting the best of her. She hated that feeling. "Does he? I know he told me how much I meant to him. Well maybe he didn't flat out say it, but I could tell." If Rose was not enthralled in the conversation prior to, she definitely was paying loads of attention now. "But now I'm wondering if he's the committed type."

The playful atmosphere that sauntered earlier had dissipated into a serious aura. Rose didn't seem as playful as before and at this moment in time Winry appreciated that. "I don't blame you for feeling that way. I don't know if Edward told you this, but he's committed to his family. I know I must have told you this before, but that's the truth."

"Am I selfish?"

Rose didn't hesitate to answer that question. "You are not selfish, Winry. You are a beautiful, compassionate girl; heck, you even bragged to me how many people who you helped out with your automail business you run with your grandma."

"I think 'bragging' is an overstatement."

Rose did not pay attention to Winry's comment. "I don't know how else to explain this to you. Sure, I questioned whether or not Edward would be a good fit for you, believe it or not. But when I see him around you it's like he's an entirely different person."

Now that had to be an overstatement too. It didn't stop Winry from blushing profoundly. She had conversations like this in the past and no matter how many times Rose explicitly said for her to stop worrying, she couldn't help it. It didn't help that she kept feeling this way over and over again.

"You don't need to remind me of that," Winry mumbled, looking down at her plate as if it was the most interesting thing in the world.

"No, I think I do. Winry, even before you guys got together, I still had to tell you to have faith in yourself," Rose explained, trying so hard not to tug her hair out in frustration. She knew she should be patient with Winry – who was not prone to relationships. "I told him that if he hurt you, there'll be hell to pay from me."

Winry couldn't help but crack a smile. "You can be pretty persistent." Not to mention protective in that aspect. Rose might be the living incarnate of a Teletubbie in this day and age, but if any of her friends had a broken heart or something to that effect, Rose wouldn't hesitate to return that little favour.

"When necessary. Now. You said that you two kissed right? How was that?"

Winry should have expected this to come up in conversation. She did have a way of turning the tables… "Wait: I didn't tell you that he kissed me!" Winry squealed in realization, but Rose merely smiled knowingly in response.

"It's not that hard to guess why you looked so joyous today." Rose paused for a moment, taking another bite of her French toast. "You look kind of tired too. I'm guessing you spent all night thinking about it?"

"I didn't spend all night thinking about it," Winry spoke out flatly. She only spent part of the night thinking about it but it wasn't the same thing.

"But what was it like?"

"It was…" Winry still couldn't describe how her first kiss went. It definitely was not terrible, despite how they almost clashed teeth, so would this mean that kiss was perfect? It would be a stretch to say if it was.

"I'd say that it was fantastic, considering how turned on you look right now."

Winry reached across the table to smack her friend on the head. It was not the sort of thing that she was looking forward to hear from Rose at this point. "Don't say that ever again please." It was bad enough for her to hear from her grandma that if things did progress between her and Edward that they should use protection… but hearing Rose saying she looked turned on right now was making it worse. She had a feeling this wasn't a conversation she could repress easily.


	17. Lonely Person

**I'm sorry for not updating :( I was busy with final exams, holiday baking and spending time with my family. But I hope this chapter will make up for it: considering it's in Ed's POV. XD But it was so hard to write, so that's why it took so long to upload it.**

**Also, I deleted several stories – including Iris, so I apologize; I have no excuse. I have come to the conclusion that I might do another FMA story after this one is done. So again, please forgive me!**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 17: Lonely Person**

He was nervous. God was he ever nervous. But he tried so hard not to show it. Edward had a hard enough time trying to convince his brother that he was fine. But despite Edward's attempts to appear slick and confident, Al did nothing but smile knowingly and maybe threw in a couple of teasing remarks here and there. Not that he appreciated them.

But he should know damn well that Edward never did this 'dating' thing. He just never had the time for it. All what mattered to him was taking care of his brother. Ever since their mother passed away – which Edward hated to remind himself sometimes – and how their father ran off, Edward took it upon himself to be head of the family. No matter what his godmother Izumi Curtis thought.

Edward shook his head, as he ran his fingers through his blonde hair; to say that now wasn't the time to reflect was an understatement. He didn't need a heart attack just thinking about what Izumi would do to him if he forgot to run an errand for her (or something to that effect).

Though there was Winry that could give him the same effect…Not that she needed to know that.

But what could he say about her: she was someone that Edward never thought he needed… but considering that she had never changed all these years since he saw her, he could honestly say that he was happy. Ecstatic even.

From what he could tell, she never remembered him. Frankly, it broke his heart somewhat to know that there was a chance she'd never remember him.

Despite all the excruciatingly painful memories that not even he could attempt to repress, despite all the guilt that flooded his brain, and the nightmares that crept in his mind at night, he was glad that she was back in his life again. Again, not that he would tell her that.

Would Winry even believe him if he told her out of the blue that they were childhood friends? Would she even look at him the same way ever again if he told her that because of… an accident… she couldn't recognize him anymore?

That would hurt him more. Despite the façade Edward had put on all these years, he wasn't sure how long he could keep this up. Though Alphonse advised him to tell her the truth, Edward still felt immensely confused.

Sure, when he first saw her in Liore, he didn't feel like he had any other choice other than to push her away. He figured it was better than having to deal with the guilt that popped up from time to time before she came back into his life.

But things changed. He grew extremely nervous around her. He was desperate for her company even if it appeared the opposite. He wanted her to realize that he would always be there for her in her time of need. Hell, he blushed whenever Al would bring her up in conversation. In short, Edward was reluctant to admit how much he liked Winry.

He did deny it at first, but even Alphonse knew him better than Edward knew himself at times.

From what Alphonse told him multiple times over, it was more than a crush.

As Edward suddenly pulled himself out of his reverie and into the present, Edward was well aware of how true that statement was. First of all, he was sure he wouldn't spend countless hours studying his appearance: to be more specific, having difficulties deciding whether how casually he needed to dress on a date. Mind you he invited Winry to his place, which made things more stressful and nerve-wrecking.

Edward was also certain that he would never put in as much effort to clean his apartment for anyone; even though Rose said she didn't mind, Edward wasn't stupid enough to think that Winry would think the same thing. Besides, Al never let him hear the end of it – girls didn't like messes. Or bad breath. And to be honest, Edward wasn't as neat as he liked to think.

He needed to look good. He knew that much at least. Though Winry and Edward made things official, he was somewhat afraid that he would mess things up somehow. For obvious reasons. Because there was a good chance that Winry would never like him for who he was, though she accepted the fact that he had an automail leg. It eased him to think that she never judged him for that.

And he was damn lucky that she still wanted him, after what happened from before. Edward fully took responsibility for crushing her feelings: that just proved how scared he was of losing her again. Either that, or he just proved how much of an asshole he could be.

But it hurt more to reject her even if Edward did think it was for her own good. Alphonse made it pretty damn clear that he would never be able to live with himself if he tried pulling that card on her again. Edward liked to think most of the time that if he didn't have his little brother helping him out with relationship advice, given that he was in a relationship before, Edward knew he would remain the most clueless person on the planet.

Up until this point, up until his fifteen years of living on Earth, Edward was less interested in relationships compared to Al. He never wanted to entangle himself up with someone who didn't appreciate him for who he was. He did encounter some girls who didn't want him for the real deal. Did it hurt? He might have felt slightly annoyed but he moved on from that.

His tendencies to pretend the little things were what they were had not just applied to what he faced on a day to day basis but also in terms of his love life.

And it was that kind of thought that reminded him that he was not done with his initial task. As he stared blankly at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, Edward didn't think that there was anything else he missed. He definitely did not need to shave; he had yet to actually see any facial hair appear, which kind of irked his masculine ego, but he could easily supress that.

He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with much needed air, although he almost choked – considering that he had sprayed himself with cologne. No matter how few sprays he strategically placed unto his skin, he always thought it was a bit too strong; he was sure that no girl wanted to get with a guy who excessively smelled of Calvin Klein. But at least he was putting his birthday present from his godparents to good use, seeing that Izumi always told him that hygiene was important.

She didn't need to tell him twice, as he so avertedly reminded her, but that just resulted in a smack to the face. She was not at all the kind of parental figure you'd expect from her; she was not abusive but she wasn't soft-hearted. She showed love in her own way and that was something Edward, as well as Alphonse, had to get used to.

Yet for some reason, not that Edward was that upset about it, which thought revolved back to Winry. More particularly, he was thinking he could never get used to how he felt about her.

It might appear obvious to some people but you could say that he wasn't the kind of guy that would shower you with affection. But he was far from the dirt bag that some people made him out to be.

"Ed, Winry will be here in five minutes. You don't have to be nervous."

Edward rolled his eyes in meager response as he tried to shake off his brother's accusation with ease. Of course it didn't help that his facial expression was read as constipated. But could anyone blame him?

"I'm not nervous," Edward spat defensively.

Al raised an eyebrow in skepticism as he leaned against the bathroom door. "You've spent twenty minutes in the bathroom, brother." Edward opened his mouth to argue back but quickly realized that from the look Al was giving him, there was no point in interrupting. "I've never seen you this nervous before. You love her, don't you?"

Edward's cheeks flushed, almost as dark as a beetroot. Edward already established that what he felt for Winry was more than just a crush. "I wouldn't say that. But what about you and Mei?" Edward smirked triumphantly as he saw his younger brother mirror the same embarrassed expression he had moments ago. "She likes you, you know."

"Don't try and change the subject," Alphonse muttered. Normally he could talk to Edward about anything but when it came to Mei, an exchange student from Xing of whom he had the pleasure to bump into on the street, Alphonse wanted to keep that subject under wraps. After all, Al himself just got out of a relationship. Considering he was only fourteen, he didn't see the need to instantly commit himself right away. Not anytime soon at least.

"So you do like her," Edward taunted, with a growing smirk planted on his lips.

"I didn't say that I did," Alphonse sighed, tossing his brother a somewhat irritable glare. He never got annoyed at his brother often which meant that Edward better drop the subject. Or else. "But today isn't about me. It's about you and Winry."

"Please tell me you didn't set up a candlelight dinner," Edward retorted sarcastically, as he took one final glance in the mirror. He was never really worked up about his appearance in the past few years. Yet it all changed when Winry came back into his life. Honestly he didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Deep down Edward knew he didn't regret not watching romantic comedies, given that they were hardly the reliable resources when it came to dating. Good thing he did have his brother. Sometimes it seemed that Alphonse was doing a much more capable job of taking care of Edward when it should be the other way around. But as he once told Edward, they had to take care of each other. That was how things worked.

"I didn't set anything up for you guys. And besides, I'll be out of your way when she gets here."

"If you were going out on a date with Mei, you didn't have to hide it from me."

Alphonse would have retorted with a comment regarding Winry, yet the doorbell beat him to the punch – or rather, it was the doorbell that reminded Edward that his date arrived.

"Have fun," Alphonse grinned from ear to ear, though Edward could have sworn he saw a teasing glimmer in his eyes.

But Edward knew that if Alphonse knew how fast his heartrate was at this precise moment, he never would be hearing the end of it.

**:3 :3 :3**

"It was just a movie, Winry," Edward stated, feeling somewhat uncomfortable as he saw streaks of tears cascade down her cheeks; if anything, he hated the sight of tears. He distinctly remembered his mother crying a few times not too long after his dad left, which only made things worse.

Edward simply couldn't describe how guilty, for lack of a better term, he felt whenever he saw Winry crying; but that guilt would be amplified fifty times over if he was the one that caused those tears.

The girl in question sniffled as she wiped her eyes with a Kleenex tissue that was offered. "I know but I can't help it. That movie was so sad!" Edward cursed to himself, knowing that she would go off on another tangent if he didn't do anything to diffuse it.

He figured that he wouldn't have heard the end of it if he didn't let Winry pick their first movie to watch, since he was that nice of a person. But Edward wouldn't go so far as to complain about her taste in movies, despite how she had chosen The Fault in Our Stars. For the majority of the movie, Edward wouldn't say he felt uncomfortable yet having Winry hold his hand for most of it made him a little nervous.

He still had to get used to this dating thing.

Especially whenever he saw Winry in general; she was probably the best thing that happened to him, given that she liked him for who he was and made no effort to conceal that fact. Whenever she gave him affection, in the short amount of time they had been dating, his heart skipped a beat. His stomach did backflips. And only that grew ten times whenever he kissed her. Not that it was a bad thing, obviously.

It was also extremely difficult to not ogle her; she looked well in just about anything but Edward had to admit that she looked… breathtaking in denim shorts and flannel. If there was one thing that he loved about her other than her personality, if there was one thing he liked about her physical appearance were her legs. Not that he had a weird leg fetish or anything of the sort but if he wanted to, he could run his hands over them, to see if they were as smooth as they looked.

Edward mentally shook his head; these kinds of thoughts were not something he particularly liked to think about every day. Not to mention Winry would kill him.

"You must think I'm stupid for crying like that," Winry chuckled sheepishly, as she draped both her legs over Edward's lap.

"Maybe." Edward couldn't help but smirk a tiny bit, as Winry pursed her lips in a thin line and without any hesitation, she kicked his thigh none too gently. To be honest he would rather endure Winry's temper than seeing and hearing her cry any day of the week.

"Jerk," Winry snorted, even though her lips were spreading into a smile; what could she say?

"You know you love me." Because only how many people knew how much he liked her.

"I know," Winry said simply. "So what else should we watch? I'm feeling up for something action-y if you are."

Edward raised both of his eyebrows in disbelief as he inquired, "So if I chose Star Wars then that wouldn't be a problem?"

Winry shrugged. "I'm more of a Trekkie to be honest but I'm up for it."

"I know."

For a brief moment, Winry looked confused. "Did I tell you that? I haven't really told many people." Yet it was at this point that Edward cursed himself; for one moment, he completely forgot that she never remembered him. Even though he knew a lot about her since childhood, which was how he came to learn how Winry spent an immense amount of her Saturday mornings watching Star Trek, she didn't know that. Now could have been the time to tell her. Now could have been the time to explain how he knew her and how she didn't know him, though that was changing on an entirely different level.

"Al must have told me," was what Edward ended up telling her, with a shrug of the shoulders added on top of that.

"That makes sense. I know I've told Rose and back when they were dating, that's what they watched sometimes." Winry paused, noting the look of pure relief painted on Edward's face. "Is something wrong?"

"No. It's nothing," Edward replied shortly.

Winry on the other hand definitely was not having it. In next to no time at all, Winry readjusted her position: by scooting much closer to him, she did notice that his body muscles were tensing up. She didn't have to think twice to study his facial expression which practically exuded discomfort. Mild discomfort but discomfort nonetheless.

"You do know you can tell me if something's wrong, right?"

"I know that."

"But I can also tell that you don't want to talk about it," Winry sighed, avoiding Edward's gaze for a few seconds. Biting her lower lip, she continued, "But if something's really bothering you, just don't shut me out." Edward would have responded to that, only which Winry followed this up with a kiss on the cheek.

"Now, which Star Wars are we watching?" The way that she looked at him made his heart skip several beats; hell, the sparkle in her eyes when she looked at him and the way she smiled at him calmed him down somewhat.

"Since you're asking, there's nothing better than Empire Strikes Back," Edward offered, with a hint of pride in his tone of voice.

"Nothing better?" Winry chuckled, rolling her eyes in disbelief. "I'm pretty sure that undermines the prequels."

"They weren't that bad."


	18. Against the Current

**I love you all so much! I appreciate the feedback you gave me last chapter and I am just so happy you liked it! That chapter was immensely difficult to write, so I'm glad it paid off. :3 But this chapter was also a little tricky to write; nonetheless, I'm pretty certain you'll enjoy it.**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 18: Against The Current**

"So does this count as a date then?" Winry winked, as her lips formed a genuinely ecstatic smile, which definitely did not go unnoticed by Edward; from the unnerving expression on his face, she would have guessed that she affected him in more ways than one. Seeing him flush like that was positively adorable in her opinion.

What was just as adorable on the other hand was seeing how Edward was warming up to her displays of affection; the two of them had only just begun watching Empire Strikes Back, and already Winry felt the need to cuddle up close to him. And he never pushed her away: he more or less welcomed it, as his right arm wrapped around her waist, though it was a loose embrace at that.

Even if it felt like it was awkward, Winry wouldn't have it any other way. Not to get all mushy, but Winry didn't feel comfortable or safe with anyone else like she did with him.

It helped that the aftershave (not that he needed any) and the cologne he put on took her breath away; there were no words to describe how delectable Edward smelt and even if she did, she wouldn't dare say anything to Edward. She figured that he would be greatly embarrassed.

It also helped that he dressed suavely today: given that his tank top and jeans were far from formal date material, they weren't in any sense of the term snobbish either. That was all Winry could ask for really: was that her dream man dress appropriately AND smell fantastic while doing so. Hygiene was a deal breaker for her; if guys didn't know how to brush their teeth OR put on clean clothes, there was no sense in her looking twice at the guy.

It was a fantastic thing that Edward understood that concept but Winry knew that deep down she would have gone out with him anyway IF he didn't have that perfect standard of cleanliness.

"We're spending time together, aren't we?" Edward muttered; he was hardly good at expressing feelings, though the shyness barrier was slowly fading away.

"That's true. But I'd say it's about time, isn't it?" Winry could have sworn that Edward's eyes were glued on the cleavage that was not so subtly peeking out of her shirt. Well, normally she'd have broken his nose if he intentionally made a move that she wasn't prepared for, but she would let this pass for now. Instead, Winry readjusted her tank top whilst clearing her throat, gaining his attention. Winry was pleased to see that his cheeks were turning crimson. She knew that she looked good: with or without Edward's approval.

"About time?"

"That this happened," Winry reiterated, rolling her eyes in disdain, which didn't go by unnoticed by Edward. "That we're here. Do you think we would have gotten together if things were different?" She could feel Edward's muscles tense in automatic response and as she looked back up to see his facial expression, she noticed that he appeared guarded once again. It was almost as if she said something to garner this kind of reaction but Winry didn't have any idea of it at the time.

"Does it matter?" Edward scoffed, as his eyes flickered back to the television screen, of which the film was still playing.

"I was just thinking about it," Winry snorted. "I mean, even if we just did meet, do you think it was too fast?" She failed to notice the sad gleam in Edward's gold hues as she scooted even closer (if it was humanly possible) to her boyfriend's side.

"What difference does it make? You know how I feel about you." In fact he made it brutally clear how Edward felt about her in recent events: AKA when he kissed her for the first time. And it certainly wouldn't be the last.

"I don't know," Winry smirked, which made Edward feel uneasy for a miniscule second. "I did see you checking me out earlier, which makes me wonder if you like me for me OR…" She had to say that the shocked look he was donning was absolutely priceless. Surely he didn't think she was serious but she did need the reassurance. Or maybe she was just plain sadistic for wanting to see him in misery.

"That's stupid," Edward snarled in protest, "I would never do something like that."

"I was just teasing you Ed, you don't have to be like that."

"What'd you call me?"

"Ed. Why, don't you want a nickname?" Winry playfully pouted; she couldn't help but take this one step farther. To be perfectly honest, what she told him had been improvised but now that she thought about it, she liked the sound of it. Even if it didn't seem that Edward wasn't appearing at all enthusiastic about it.

"Because then you'd start complaining about not having one," Edward chimed in. "Not that you can make a nickname out of Winry, but still."

"I can call you a dirty scoundrel if that's what you prefer," Winry barked, eliciting chuckles of amusement from Edward. "But seriously, I don't need a nickname anyway."

"How about Win-Win?" Edward's amused smile expanded, as his eyes glowed with a look of pure darkness. In short, he found it extremely entertaining to tease her, despite knowing that she could easily retaliate.

"Hell no," Winry hissed, which only caused Edward to laugh more and despite that, she liked the sound of it: the sound of Ed laughing. Since they first met, Winry couldn't really get him to laugh: he was mostly serious around her and it did make her wonder if that could ever change. But now she knew that he found immense pleasure in having fun at other people's expense – mainly her own.

"Why not? I thought it'd suit you." And there he goes again with that cocky demeanor. Honestly, Winry personally thought it was attractive. Whenever he smiled like that, as if he had just won the freaking lottery, her heartbeat thundered against her chest and basically all of her insides transmuted into puddles of goo.

"Sure, you can call me that if you want. Ed."

Yet it was at this point that the two of them noticed that the playful banter between them had diffused into comfortable silence. Or to put into obvious terms, Winry more or less noticed that the two of them had the whole living room to themselves and the movie was practically left forgotten. Winry couldn't help but widen her eyes in realization at that thought. As much as she would love to fool around with her new boyfriend, the movie would be going to waste if they didn't bother to watch it.

Not that she could be fooling around with Edward in that sense of the term…Oh she did not want to sound like a pervert; she knew that Ed wouldn't let her hear the end of it. What would hurt her pride more was that he'd be the one accusing her of perving on him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Winry inquired carefully, trying with all of her might not to sound as if she were intimidated.

"Why not?"

"It makes me… uncomfortable." She prayed that Edward hadn't noticed how her cheeks were burning as bright as tomatoes. But given that he was not at all the oblivious type maybe that was too much to ask for.

"And you say that I was a perv?"

"I didn't accuse you of being that specifically," Winry protested, as she pulled away from Edward's embrace to immediately cross her arms in a defensive stance. "And second of all, I wasn't thinking about anything related to that. Now can we please just watch the movie?"

"I'm sorry, milady," Edward crooned; did Winry also forget to mention that his voice was just like melted butter – that it could spread over her very soul? But it also didn't help that he had to quote from Attack of the Clones, which was arguably the worst of the prequels, in Winry's opinion. And because of that, she was not at all fond of the 'milady' pet name.

"Please don't call me that again," Winry seethed through her teeth, but she didn't sound as venomous as she would have liked, given that she was just paying more attention to the ever so convenient interaction between Han and Leia onscreen.

"You know you like it."

"I don't. I just can't handle pet names like that," Winry explained. "How would you feel if I just called you… sugarbear? Or honeybunny?"

"Don't you dare."

**:3 :3 :3**

If Winry had to make a well-placed assumption, she'd say this: Edward looked pretty damn adorable when he was sleeping. It was surprising to say the least that at some point she had fallen asleep as well, though it was definitely not by choice. It would make sense that the couple's banter had died down exponentially throughout the climax of the film and they spent the remainder of it cuddling.

Maybe there was kissing involved but what really proved to Winry of how much she meant to him was how he held her. Even if it would still take some time for him to adjust to these new boundaries, she knew that he was warming up to this relationship. It made her happy: probably the happiest she's been in a while if she had to be honest.

With an arm snaked around her waist protectively, as with his body molding perfectly against hers, Winry felt completely at ease. Even though she felt his warm breath make contact with the nape of her neck, Winry was perfectly comfortable with the situation. After all, it wasn't the first time that they had ended up in this situation, but this time Winry knew that Edward wasn't going to go berserk over it.

But that wasn't the only thing on her mind. As she mindlessly watched the credits appearing on Edward's television screen, her mind went back to her previous conversations with him.

The way that he looked at her throughout the movie was what bothered her the most. But whenever she asked him what the problem was, she could tell that he was lying through his teeth, therefore she did nothing.

It was frustrating because she told him that he could talk to her if he had a problem.

Maybe he didn't trust her. Which was a silly thought she had to shake out of her mind immediately: of course he trusted her. She was the first girl that could bring such an emotional reaction from him. He was usually honest with her.

But maybe this relationship was moving too fast: which was yet another thought that kept popping up in her brain, much to her chagrin. It didn't matter what anyone else told her because Winry kept reflecting on this anytime she was free to dwell on her thoughts.

Winry didn't want to break things off between them: she knew how much she'd hurt Edward if she did. She could only imagine how his heart would break, yet a miniscule part of her conscience wanted that to happen. If he wasn't willing to be straight up honest with her – no matter what the problem was – how could this relationship possibly work? Plus, she was going back to Risembool by the end of August: which would without a doubt put strain on their relationship.

Now that Winry truly thought about it, did she know enough about Edward to be fully comfortable with knowing whether or not he trusted her?

She hated thinking about this every damn second, but Winry realized she needed some answers.

The only problem coming to mind was when she'd ask for them. Which made her even more confused of what she can do.


	19. It's Hard to Say It

**So this story's got 12,000+ views… Holy shit. That's all I can say. Even though this story is far from over, I'll still take the time to thank each and every one of you for checking it out; your feedback means the world to me! :D**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 19: It's Hard to Say It**

_Winry for the most part knew that she was dreaming. There were some good indicators of this; first of all, she found herself right back in Risembool. How could she not recognize the emerald hills in the distance, the azure skies, the clean air, dirt roads: all of which she could only find here. _

_For the most part, she was assuming that was the biggest indicator; at least, until she noticed where she was sitting so peacefully: on a pile of bales. For some reason, as her legs crossed over while they made contact with the straw, this was familiar to her somehow. _

_And Winry did not know how to feel about it; part of her was curious and there was another part of her that felt absolute dread. It was almost as if she instinctively knew that something terrible was going to happen, but it was killing her to know that she didn't have any ideas on what it might be. _

"_Winry, what are you doing up there?" Winry froze, suddenly tensing up as she turned her head to see Edward – no, that couldn't be him; but as she took the time to study his features, Winry couldn't figure out why he had to turn up as a child in her dream. But it was him: with the same golden locks of hair, the same gold eyes, though at this point he had chubby cheeks which indicated his youth. In all honesty she thought that he looked adorable, even without the automail leg (which should have been labelled as suspicious in her eyes); but that wasn't troubling her as much as the sense of dread clouding over her. _

"_Winry if your granny finds out about this, she'll kill me!" Edward huffed, crossing his arms against his chest in what appeared to be an intimidating manner. _

"_She doesn't have to know everything, does she?" Winry shot back, sticking out her tongue for good effect. "Besides, I like it up here." As much as Winry hated to say it, she did like the picturesque view of the landscape that this elevation gave her: it empowered her in a sense to know that she can practically see everything out in the country. _

_It did not go by unnoticed by her that she was transformed into a child, which did absolutely nothing to calm the ever growing nerves in the pit of her stomach. _

_Why was this familiar to her? It wasn't a déjà vu feeling, but it was this kind of situation that Winry knew deep down had happened. It frustrated her to the core why she was suddenly thinking about this now: but there shouldn't be any reason to. This was only a dream, Winry reasoned with herself. She could try to act as rational as humanly possible, yet a small part of her conscience knew it was more than just a dream. _

"_Just come back down, Winry!" Edward huffed, pouting for good measure. _

"_Why don't you come up here and make me?" Winry stuck out her tongue, blowing a raspberry as she did so; even in her dreams she still couldn't resist the urge to taunt Edward. But it wasn't a dream. At least, it didn't feel like one to her anymore. _

_As far as Winry knew, she hadn't noticed that she had leaned forward; it was almost as if she had forgotten that she had been sitting up on a hay bale in the first place. _

"_Winry, watch out!" Winry sharply took heed of Edward's cautious tone of voice and the look of pure dread painted on his face, but it was far too late. _

_Winry could feel her heart pound against her chest and she also felt her stomach plummet in panic: which just about summed up how afraid she was at the moment. However, she did not have to dwell on these feelings for too long. _

_Before she could grip the haystack in an attempt to balance herself, all she knew was that she was falling forward. And it happened way too fast for her liking. _

_Winry never failed to hear the panic in Edward's voice as he called out for her one last time… before she fell unconscious._

**:3 :3 :3**

"Winry, what's wrong?" Her eyelids slowly opened themselves, as her eyes revealed a concerned Edward looking down into her eyes; though Winry had no idea why her boyfriend had to be so concerned until she took notice of the way her breaths came out of her lips as long, deep pants – the kind of pants that would indicate whether or not someone was suffocating. And to be truthful she did kind of feel that way, but all of her nervous energy evaporated, as she realized how she was still in Edward's comforting embrace.

But what truly convinced her that this was reality had been two points: that she felt Edward's automail leg intertwine with hers and point B being that his intoxicating aftershave eased her to the point of almost being completely relaxed.

Winry felt guilty that she inherently worried him so much. She could not bear to imagine how he was feeling, given that he had to have heard her murmur something in her sleep. She didn't think that she talked in her sleep but from the protective glance that Edward was giving her, she had to assume that she must have said something.

Winry bit her lip. "It's nothing. It was just a dream." That's all that could have been, right? It wasn't like that was a distant memory trying to resurface; she didn't even know Edward throughout childhood. That's what Winry liked to believe anyway.

"You sure?"

"Yeah I'm fine. So how long were we sleeping for?" Winry decided it was best to change the subject; she didn't think it was necessary to tell Edward about her dream, which gave her instant chills just reflecting upon it. Besides, she was in fact fine. Or at least she will be. Nothing that a day of relaxation couldn't fix.

"About an hour and a half," Edward replied, his voice husky and gruff. If there was anything that gave her pleasant chills, it was the sound of his voice.

"You were pretty tired, huh?" Winry queried softly, as her fingers reached up to tuck strands of loose blonde hair behind her boyfriend's ear; she also had to say that he looked damn mesmerising with his hair loose from his usual braid.

"Not that tired," she heard him mutter. She smiled as she felt his arms envelop her, with one hand resting on her waist. If she had known how much of a cuddler Edward was, she should have put the moves on him sooner.

"I should probably get going soon."

"You probably should. You kind of stink." Winry swatted his chest several times, not at all liking what he was insinuating.

"If I'm such a stinky girl, you shouldn't be holding me," Winry suggested, her smirk growing wider, as she took note of the irritated expression Edward was sporting. "Or we can take this in the shower if you prefer." His entire face turned a darker shade of crimson at that point which only amused Winry more than anything.

"I don't want to see you naked anyways," Edward snorted.

"Yeah, well, it's really too bad you'll never find out how amazing I look without any clothes on." Winry would have smacked anyone else who tried telling her something like that, but she had come to love their little spats. Not that she would tell Edward that; if he had his way, he'd be picking fights with her all the time.

"Don't flatter yourself; we all know what you look like under there," Edward yawned.

"Would you care to find out?" Winry raised an eyebrow in curiosity, alongside with a sinister smile making an appearance on her lips.

She almost laughed when she saw how red his face turned, which meant her prodding worked. She really couldn't help herself: teasing him brought so much joy, as sad and pathetic as that kind of sounded. But come on – who could resist? Edward may very well be a Rottweiler on the outside, but deep down he was just a puppy.

"Are you always this blunt?" Edward inquired, as he tried so very hard to look away from her; he did kind of feel foolish enough as it is.

"Don't tell me that it turns you off," Winry said, with a hint of sarcasm laced in her voice. "Since I was little I kind of have a habit of mouthing off sometimes." She almost squeaked when she felt Edward's arm tighten his grip on her, if only slightly. And he said that he didn't want to hold her… What a total softie.

"Who told you that?" Winry briefly wondered if he was aware of how he was cradling her, but she knew that she shouldn't make a big deal of it yet. Yet being the operative word.

"My grandma," Winry chuckled sheepishly. "From what I remember, I was kind of a brat. But she raised me right, so I'm assuming I grew up decent."

"It mustn't have been easy," Edward supplied, his tone of voice suddenly growing serious. At least Winry knew that he listened to whatever she said, no matter what appearances suggested. Hell, Winry didn't think it would matter as much if he never opened up to her as long as he listened. "Just with your grandma. I mean… at least you had someone that cared for you."

"What about you?" Winry remembered that he simply told her that his mother passed away, but didn't go into any more detail than that. "I know that you had Alphonse, but going by with an automail leg couldn't have been a walk in the park." Winry softly patted his clothed knee, before she ran her fingers down his leg in a comforting motion.

"Al and I had godparents here in Liore. We stayed with them for a while, but it took some convincing for them to let us get a place of our own." That would explain why the two of them had been living by themselves; they were practically independent. "But they don't live that far away, so that was the compromise."

"What are they like?" Winry asked, as she snuggled even closer into Edward's chest; there was no way she was planning on leaving yet. Not when she was finally learning more about him.

"My godmother, well, she's more or less crazy," Edward snorted, although Winry could sense fear illuminating from him. "But for the most part she took care of us."

"What do you mean by crazy? Don't tell me you're scared of her." That would be a sight to see.

"Trust me on this. If you meet her, don't expect her to be all nice and sweet," Edward deadpanned. "She's pretty rough with everyone."

"Now I want to meet her," Winry proclaimed, "Even if it does sound like you're giving her a bad name." He merely rolled his eyes in response.

"Why?"

"Maybe because I want to thank her for a good job in raising you. It sounds to me that she loves you, even if she does give you tough love," Winry explained, although she was unaware of the surprised expression that lit up on Edward's facial features. But she was aware of the fast pace of his heartbeat, which gave her some idea of the kind of effect she had on him. "It's the truth!" Winry protested, since Edward never said anything back as a response.

"Knowing her, she'll kill me for not introducing you to her anyway," Edward sighed. "She always teased me about getting myself a girlfriend."

"But now that you have one, she should be pretty happy for you." Winry paused to kiss him on the cheek. "But does this mean I get to meet her then?" She asked hopefully.

"It's your funeral," Edward answered truthfully, but it was his way of saying that he did want her to meet his family. Winry could take pride in the fact that she was that important enough for him that she'd meet them. But she could tell for sure that Ed had thought of this as something difficult to say. But she wouldn't have him any other way.


	20. Thinking Out Loud

**Yep, there's so much more of this story to get untangled. ;) You could say it's all tangled up. XD**

**I hope you guys had a good Valentine's Day. Needless to say, I spent it watching The Force Awakens again. Nothing gives me more joy than that. XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 20: Thinking Out Loud**

After spending a glorious day with her boyfriend, who might not even share her thoughts on that, Winry was plain exhausted. Despite the nap she had earlier, she didn't feel as rested as she should be. And there could only be one reason for that: just remembering about the content of her dream put her on edge.

She knew she could keep telling herself she was fine, but some way or another, she'd keep thinking about it. It was more irritating than anything else, just like having a familiar song stuck in your head and you would never be able to think about the song title right away.

After greeting Rose, who looked as if she were preparing to go out (after all, she hardly ever wore her hair up in a ballerina bun), Winry quickly made to her room with every intention of relaxing.

She figured she could use the time to keep to herself. She did contemplate telling Rose about her dream but who knows how she would react. And besides, with the way Rose was dressed – in a simple black, sleeveless dress that ended mid-thigh – no doubt she had other things on her mind. Which instinctively reminded Winry to peruse her best friend for details later that night.

She did kind of feel bad for troubling Rose about her own love life, but maybe it was for the best. She did only just recall that Rose had broken up with Alphonse – which would make things kind of awkward – so Winry didn't want to push it.

Winry more or less felt quite content about how things were going between her and Edward. They haven't been dating long at all and yet he brought her so much happiness. Just thinking about him made her heart race, and basically made her feel giddy. How else was she supposed to act in her first relationship?

She couldn't deny the fact that she loved him. Even the flaws. There was no point in arguing against that statement anymore.

She loved how he kept his hair in a braid. She loved the colour of his eyes. She loved the sound of his voice. She even loved his automail leg; whenever she took so much of a glance towards it, Winry could tell that Edward was tense, almost as if he was expecting her to be turned off by it.

She was far from being turned off and if she had to continuously remind him of that, she could take all the time in the world.

She even loved the way they fought sometimes which was saying something. Maybe Winry sounded clingy? She didn't really know at this point.

But she was ecstatic, and possibly a little nervous, that she would finally get to meet Edward's godparents. She knew that this would be the closest thing to meet his family. But Winry was perfectly okay with that.

Yet she was afraid that they wouldn't like her. That they wouldn't find her good enough for Edward. This would probably be her biggest fear in the entire world. But even if they didn't like her, would Edward still want to date her? Considering that they had gone through all the trouble… Edward had to have felt the same way about her.

"Winry? Could we talk for a second?" Rose politely inquired, as she entered Winry's line of vision.

Winry sat up, stretching her arms in the process, although she couldn't care less that her shirt was riding up to reveal her smooth and pale stomach. It wasn't like Edward was around to see that anyway, though she couldn't help but wonder how flustered she could get him to be. He was just so innocent, Winry thought it was cute.

"You look like you're going out for a night on the town," Winry commented, with a wry smile growing on her lips. "You got a date?"

"You could say that," Rose murmured, as she bashfully gazed at the floor, with a nice flush complimenting her cheeks. Winry knew that whoever this guy was, it had to be somebody that Rose was in love with, because Winry didn't think that Rose would dress up like this for just anyone.

"So, what's his name?" Winry was grinning from ear to ear at this point, which only made Rose's blush much more obvious.

"Logan," Rose admitted, as she pretended to occupy herself with flattening out the crinkles of her black dress. There was no doubt about it: she had to be head over heels if she was acting somewhat mortified. But that mortification can turn into downright giddiness or to shameless daydreaming.

"Tell me all the details. Is he cute? Is he into Disney movies?" Any perquisite to dating Rose included the following: you had to like Disney movies, you had to tolerate her dislike for Vitamin water, you had to tell her how good she looked from time to time, and if she insisted on paying for herself, you let her do it, because you know, it's 2014.

"We kind of met around the time you and Ed got yourselves kicked out of the movie theater," Rose explained sheepishly.

"The memories," Winry sighed to herself, although deep down, she was pretty much over that fiasco. If not for the fact that Rose was opening up to her about her love life blossoming, Winry would allow herself to laugh.

"Anyways, he kind of just… sat behind me, we started talking, and here we are." There was no mistaking the sparkle in Rose's eyes, and Winry had to say that she was happy for her. "I think I really like him, but we haven't talked about our relationship yet."

"Did you do anything with him?" Winry had to ask this question. She would be coloured surprised if Rose began a physical relationship with this guy. Rose may be the incarnate of Cupid but she was as innocent as she was when it came to dating.

"No, we haven't done anything that you're thinking. I made that perfectly clear to him."

"So he tried doing something with you?" Winry widened her eyes in shock. If anyone tried to make a move on Rose without her consent, Winry would ensure that they would regret it. Considering all the times that Rose had helped her out, the least Winry could do was watch out for her well-being. Though if she had to be honest, Winry didn't know if there was anybody who was good enough to date her best friend. Maybe that was the assessment Winry had made when she learned that Rose's previous boyfriend had broken up with her. And it didn't help that it was her own boyfriend's brother.

"I wouldn't say he's a playboy, but he's dated casually in the past," Rose fermented her point firmly, though for a brief second, Winry thought she saw her face fall in uncertainty. Winry never saw her so conflicted about anything.

"So were you going to talk to him about it today?" Winry didn't want to force Rose to do anything; she knew how insecure Rose could be, despite the fact that she specifically helped Winry with her own love life.

"I'm thinking about it," Rose said, biting her lip in a thoughtful manner. "But what if he wants more than what I'm willing to give? Because… he knows that I got out of a relationship. Would it be too soon to talk about it?" The slight quiver in Rose's voice gave away how anxious she was about the situation. Winry didn't blame her. She knew how that felt: to be tugged along without any certainty of how things were developing.

"If he's not willing to go slow with you, then ask if he's worth it," Winry suggested. Though she found herself surprised that she had come up with romantic advice, seeing that she hardly knew about romance at all. It was probably with her experiences with Edward that gave her the knowledge.

"I shouldn't be nervous about this at all, but I can't help it," Rose growled in irritation, crossing her arms which mirrored the fierce expression she doted.

"It's okay to be nervous. If he's the right guy, he'll understand."

"He better," Rose sighed. "A part of me is wondering whether or not I should have put myself out there this soon." Winry's eyes widened at this.

"You are over Alphonse, right?" Rose was not the type of girl to rebound, even if was to make herself feel better. She wasn't the kind of girl who would intentionally hurt others, but if she said that she wasn't over him…

"I thought so too," Rose admitted, "But I kind of had a dream about him last night. Does that mean anything?" If Rose had been continuously thinking about Al in that way, Winry had to assume that she wasn't.

"You've been thinking about him a lot. I would say that you're partially over him," Winry confessed.

"I kind of figured that too. But enough about me, how was your day?" Winry could tell that Rose didn't want to press the subject further, which left Winry with two options: 1) which was to humour her and mindlessly talking about herself or 2) won't accept Rose's subject change and continue to give her the best advice she had in mind. Yet there was another instantaneous option that popped up: that Winry could talk to Alphonse and see if he could patch things up with Rose once and for all.

Rose may have said that the two of them had broken up with no aftereffects of bitterness and awkwardness, but Winry was beginning to question that. Winry might not know Al well enough to judge his character with an assertive certainty, but she didn't think that Rose should avoid him forever as if he were Tom Cruise's reincarnation.

But how would she pull this off if she had the opportunity? Winry couldn't exactly fool Rose for long. Just one out of character thought and Rose would instantly be suspicious. But the real question is whether or not Rose would appreciate her intervention?

Winry knew that she was doing this for her benefit but if Rose would be angry at her, that's the worst-case scenario. She distinctly remembered back to five years ago, when they were ten years old, and Rose was visiting her for the summer. They were simply enjoying a nice picnic in Winry's yard, and it helped that the warm weather and clear skies were present there too. Rose distinctly reminded her that no matter who got a boyfriend first, that would never ruin their friendship.

Winry knew that was the key factor in maintaining a long lasting friendship. The fact that they promised to be there for each other.

**:3 :3 :3**

Since Rose had left, Winry made a rational decision in taking advantage of alone time. This usually meant that she could call her grandmother at the first chance she got, of which she almost forgot that she hadn't called her since she got together with Edward.

Frankly, Winry was nervous about telling her grandma about him. She had always been so laidback in terms of Winry's social life, given that after her parents died, Winry distinctly remembered keeping to herself for an extended period of time. Her grandma Rockbell more or less pushed her to make friends at school, as long as they were good people.

So why was Winry worried? Maybe because she hadn't expressed any desire whatsoever to date. After all, her grandmother kept her pretty busy whenever she helped out in her shop. But there was no doubt she'd be difficult to win over. If there was anyone that Winry received her persevering, stubborn attitude, and determination from, it was from her grandma.

Winry knew that if she had earned the privilege to be introduced to Edward's godmother, she should at least try to do the same.

So this phone call could turn out bad, like having to perform a surgery without any prior experience kind of bad. Needless to say, Winry was freaking out from the inside.

"Winry, it's been a while since you called." General speak for how much she missed her. She wasn't that sentimental.

"Yeah I know. I've been busy." As Winry stared at her toes as if they were the most fascinating things in the entire world, she felt even more paranoid about telling her grandma that she had a boyfriend. "I was just wondering how you'd feel if I had a boyfriend?"

"Do you?" Everything was just 'get to the point' with her.

"Yeah. I really like him. Edward." Winry's discomfort could easily be reflected by how she curled her legs up against her chest, with tense shoulders, almost as if she were expecting a jump scare.

"So he's the reason why you want to stay in Liore?" Winry almost forgot that by the end of August, she would be treading back to Risembool for school. She felt somewhat nervous: she didn't know what this would mean for their relationship. Would they try a long-distance relationship? Or would they simply remain as friends?

"I'm still coming home, Granny," Winry stated. As much as she would love to stay with Rose, she knew she had an obligation to her grandmother too.

"I'm not convinced that you want to. You want to stay there with that boy, don't you?" In short, she shouldn't take her grandma for a fool. "I'm not forcing you to come back home. But if you want to come back, I won't stop you either." She was being surprisingly lenient about it.

"I still have some weeks left. But I'll talk to him about it," Winry replied, although it sounded as though she was trying to reassure herself more than her grandmother.

"You said that his name's Edward, right?"

"Yep. Edward Elric." For a moment, Winry thought that her grandmother was tensing up on the other side of the line.

"Does this boy make you happy? Truly happy?" Winry furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"The happiest I've been in a while," Winry sighed in admission. "We might not get along all the time – I'm sure he's picked a fight with me a billion times – and he might have insecurities about how he looks…But I like him."

"It sounds to me that you love him. You would do anything for him."


	21. Don't Wake Me

**The reason why I took so long to update isn't just because of school: it's the fact that I've been diagnosed with depression, and that kind of took a toll on whether or not I should be writing anything in my free time. But I guess I've been told I had good coping mechanisms… So I mostly focused on writing other things. I've been re-reading some of my FMA manga to get back into this. XD**

**Anyways, I hope you guys like this chapter!**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 21: Don't Wake Me**

"Yeah, I'm in love with him," Winry whispered softly, vaguely aware that her blue eyes were tearing up; she could be honest and say that she was overwhelmed with emotions. "I would do anything for him. But sometimes he looks at me like he's known me before." It did not help that the dreams she had felt all too real to her.

"Winry…" A flash of irritation coursed through her veins; once again, Winry had a distinct feeling that her grandmother was hiding something from her. If anything, she felt as though she had the right to feel this way; she hated being kept in the dark.

"Granny, I've been quiet about this until now. Why do I feel like there's something you're not telling me?" Sure, there could have been better ways to handle the subject. "I'm no idiot. I can take whatever you can dish out." She was the toughest girl that she knew; she may as well have a heart of steel, so it wasn't as if she were sensitive.

"I have never treated you as such, Winry." Winry knew that too, but a part of her felt like she was keeping something major from her; worst off it felt like Granny was putting it off.

"Then what are you so afraid to tell me?" Now might as well be as good a time as any. "Is this about Edward?"

"I suppose I might as well tell you the truth. It is time you know anyway," Granny sighed. Winry, meanwhile, bit down hard on her lip in anticipation, as her heartbeat started to accelerate. "When you were about five years old, there was this new family who moved to Risembool. Two boys, roughly the same age, although the younger one, I believe, was a year younger."

"Edward and Alphonse," Winry muttered, widening her eyes in shock; she had yet to conclude that her grandmother was lying to her about somehow knowing them in childhood. Her grandmother may on occasion withhold certain truths to her, but did she ever lie to her?

"Yes. For a good while, you three were the best of friends; sleepovers, picnics, you name it – you were doing everything together. For a good couple of years, I've never seen you happier than you were with them." There was a tone of nostalgia and sadness mixed in Granny's voice, which only confirmed Winry's fears: something went terribly awry.

"Then at one point, when you were seven, there was an accident. Alphonse came to me looking quite distraught one day, saying that… you and Edward were playing on several stacks of hay bales; before either of you knew what happened, someone fell down."

"It was me, wasn't it?" Winry whispered softly; she could tell that it somewhat hurt for her grandmother to talk about this. In all honesty, she wasn't at all comfortable about hearing all of this new information either, despite how it made sense to her thus far.

"Yes. When I got there, along with Edward and Alphonse's mother, you were lying on the ground, unconscious… and Edward, was probably just as upset as Alphonse, if not more." Winry's nerves were rising in the pits of her stomach, and she had to swallow several times to ensure that they were kept under wraps. She had yet to even notice that her legs were quivering.

"It was a miracle that you haven't broken any arms or legs. We hoped that you had nothing short of a concussion, but as it turned out… you lost part of your memories." At this point, Winry had noted that her eyes were filling with tears. Not that she would shed them. "Edward and Alphonse, as you can imagine, were upset. But not too long after this incident, while you were in recovery, their mother had passed away. Their godparents came to Risembool, after hearing what happened, and they wanted to raise the boys in Liore. I couldn't find it in my heart to tell them otherwise."

"So that's why… but why wouldn't Edward tell me?" Winry wouldn't have judged him; she would not have blamed him for what happened either… But it really hurt, knowing that when they met, Edward had recognized her. Hell, he acted like a jerk around her for a while. Maybe because he didn't want to see her get hurt?

Nonetheless, Winry knew she had to get answers from him.

"I have not talked to that boy in a while, but…"

"Wait, you've talked to him recently?" Winry interrupted, with a somewhat irritated tone of voice. She honestly did not know what hurt her more: the fact that Winry had no idea she had experienced memory loss – which made her forget everything about Edward and Alphonse – or the fact that Edward and her grandmother had been in contact recently. It just didn't make any sense to her.

"Not in a while, Winry."

"But you have been in contact with him," Winry stated flatly; it was difficult to not be angry at her grandmother from what she had been told. "What have you told him? That he should stay away from me until the time is right?"

"Winry, you are twisting my words," Granny Pinako stated, as her authoritative tone began to shine through.

"Well every time I seem to mention him, like I did not even half an hour ago, you were on the defensive," Winry hissed. "You always told me I shouldn't be someone to be pitied…" Was Edward truly pitying her this whole time? Was that why he bothered interacting with her in the first place?

Who cared if she was blowing this out of proportion? Winry believed she had every right to be angry. She basically lived a carefree life; she was once a girl who was never particularly popular, but she was tremendously loved. Despite the fact that she had undergone serious trauma, with the death of her parents, she never thought that she knew people who went through the same thing.

It was practically her own fault that everyone else had worried about her when she lost her memory.

Seeing that Granny had described to her in crucial detail of how bad Alphonse and Edward felt, who else was there to blame? Did Winry feel guilty? Of course she did.

But all of this made perfect sense to her; she distinctly remembered how Edward looked at her solemnly sometimes… That would explain it. And the worst part was, Winry didn't push it.

Talk about worst girlfriend of the year.

"I'm sorry, Granny. I think I need time to think."

**:3 :3 :3**

Winry didn't feel like doing much of anything after that. The sinking feeling that encompassed her not even twenty minutes ago had transformed into utter sadness; almost as if she was struggling to wrap her mind around the recent events.

It was apparent that everyone knew that she lost her memory; after all this time, as she went to visit Rose almost every summer, no one bothered putting it to her gently. In short, she was nothing but a burden. It made her wonder how many years of her life had turned out to be a lie: almost as if she were an entirely different person.

Winry was still herself, wasn't she? She certainly hoped so.

But did it matter what other people saw in her? Because whenever Winry looked at herself, she found a diligent, competent, smart, stubborn, and especially pretty young girl. Yet deep down she was as flawed as anyone else.

She wasn't anyone special, which did arouse this thought: what did Edward see in her?

Winry sighed, as she ran her fingers through her shoulder-length blonde hair; she wasn't up to contradicting herself, yet she didn't stop these thoughts from invading her mind. She knew that feelings didn't equal to rational thinking, yet she wanted to believe that they were the same thing.

Winry knew it was unfair to complain about this situation. She supposed it could have been worse; she supposed that she wouldn't like the possibility of Edward wanting her as his girlfriend just because he felt sorry for her.

If she knew him at all from the time they have met, Winry's heart told her that Edward wasn't that kind of guy. That he had good judgment. But that didn't mean he was flawless either.

Well, she reasoned that this whole thing was her fault: she was the one who wanted to know why mentioning Edward brought obvious discomfort to her grandma. She was the one who wanted to know how she lost her memories. She was the one who tangled herself up, with next to no chances of being the same way ever again.

Closing her eyes, Winry figured that she could use a nap; maybe she wouldn't feel so daunting if she rested for a bit…

**:3 :3 :3**

_She knew she was dreaming again. Or rather, she had pushed herself to uncover this forgotten memory. Yet it did not matter if it was a dream or not; Winry found herself back in Risembool, relaxing in the tall, wild grass that occupied much of the land that was not irrigated. _

_Winry reasoned that as peaceful as this locale was, she briefly wondered if things could only go up from here. She supposed that by remembering her… accident, there was yet to be anything worse than what she went through. _

_Again, Winry was self-aware that she was a child: with her short legs covered in dirty overalls, a short-sleeved lavender t-shirt clinging to her upper torso, and size 4 sneakers, Winry concluded that she was hardly the girly-girl that most people perceived her to be. _

"_What are you crying about now, Winry?" She lifted her head up, noting that Edward sat down beside her, looking quite cross if Winry might add. _

"_I'm not crying." Little did Winry know, she actually was; but it was beyond to her understanding why she was crying. _

"_Yeah, you are."_

"_Why would you care?" Winry hissed, as she wiped the newly discovered tears off her cheeks. "You even said you didn't care."_

"_Excuse me for not being all touchy-feely," Edward shot back, crossing his arms, while a pout was twitching on his lips. "Just tell me what's wrong."_

"_No," Winry stated, sticking her tongue out in his general direction. As far as Winry was concerned, Edward was nothing but a meanie. Plain and simple. And she thought that she liked him too, despite how short he was compared to her. But he always had to make fun of her; he always kept secrets from her; he even cheated when they played hide and go seek. _

"_Don't be stupid, Winry," Edward hissed back, his golden eyes flaring with annoyance. "I know something's wrong."_

"_Just leave me alone," Winry whimpered, turning her back on him, as more tears were raining down her pale cheeks. "My mom and dad left me alone for the last time. Maybe it's best that you do the same."_

"_You must be dumber than I thought. Why would I leave you?" She heard him snort, which made her want to chortle too. For a stupid jerk, he could act nice if he wanted to. _

"_Cuz you don't wanna marry me," Winry answered back, though her answer came out more as a mutter than anything else. It'd be wondrous if Edward managed to hear what she said. _

"_What does that have to do with anything?" He sputtered, and before she knew it, she lifted her head back up, and turned to see Edward gazing back at her with a flushed expression on his chubby features. Winry couldn't hide a giggle, knowing that it was always funny to see him so embarrassed. It always reminded her of the times whenever Granny caught him for sneaking an extra piece of apple pie and he never failed to look so flustered. _

"_I'm not girly enough for you, right?" Just the sight of Winry pouting made Edward backpedal on his choice of words. _

"_Who said that?"_

"_You did!" Winry frowned, narrowing her blue eyes in anger. Why did she have to like this idiot? "I guess I won't ever be good enough for you."_

"_If you change the way you look, you'll be even weirder." Normally, Winry might have smacked him for saying something like that, given that everyone she knew would practically comment on how adorable she was. _

"_Really? You think I'm pretty?" Winry had long since stopped crying, and had even come to smile at Edward. Little did she know that Edward absolutely loathed it whenever she was upset about something, and he would just do about anything to make her smile again. _

"_I never said that," Edward muttered, as his cheeks started to burn a deeper shade of crimson. Before Edward could get a handle on what was happening, Winry kissed his cheek, yet it felt like nothing more than a peck. _

"_If only you could be this nice all the time," Winry giggled, seeing how Edward didn't seem to flinch at this unexpected contact. _

"_What are you talking about? I'm always nice," was all Edward seemed to say on the matter, as he looked away from his friend. Winry had yet to notice that he had whispered something else, but never caught up on it; she was more preoccupied with the fact that she was lucky to have him as her friend._


	22. August Fever

**We've got the classic meet the parents trope coming up; I hope you are psyched about it as I am. LOL. Please let me know what you think about this chapter; I put in a lot of effort, XD, and I think it deserves more feedback. I had a lot of trouble writing this chapter, since I've grown emotionally… troubled lately. **

**Tangled**

**Chapter 22: August Fever**

As far as Winry was concerned, summer colds could go suck ice cubes. Obviously, not in the literal sense, but in the metaphorical sense. Frankly, there was nothing worse than catching an illness – when it was August no less; if Winry had to be totally honest, she would rather be watching Boondock Saints than putting up with this cold. Actually, there was a list of other things that she would rather be doing. Not that she had the happiness or motivation to do them.

Winry never felt this physically and emotionally unstable in her entire existence. Up until the past week or so, Winry proved herself competent of taking care of herself; though from this point onward, Winry's emotional state had shattered into thousands of pieces, and she didn't bother trying to divulge in any self-care activities.

Her heart wasn't into watching Iron Man; her heart was not into searching for new automail designs; and she couldn't even enjoy the strawberry cake that Rose made a couple days ago.

As far as she knew she was not overly dramatic, but to be fair, there was only so much Winry could take.

She was about as useful as Captain America, but this week, Winry was feeling anything but that. Considering that her self-esteem was cracked entirely because of the fact that she had experienced memory loss. What was worse was that no one told her until now: why did everyone think that protecting her was the best idea?

Winry was stronger than anyone could hope to believe. She did, after all, have a reputation back in grade school of which she used to beat every boy she knew playing arm wrestling. She could take a little physical pain too; her first day on the job with Granny left her with scratches and deep cuts, of which she hardly blinked an eye at. At first.

Physical pain shouldn't be compared with the emotional kind, Winry figured. Emotionally wise, Winry had strong urges to scream, cry, and possibly break something all at once. That was, if she felt like getting out of her bed, and frankly, Winry wasn't up to the task.

Which thus left her with a deep, self-pitying internal monologue which did nothing to calm her.

She was stuck in this circle never-ending negativity, and it sucked. She could think about all the things she wanted to change, but she never set out in actually doing those things. Winry considered asking Rose for help, but considering that she had been doing nothing but resting, she didn't need to make her worry.

But she had a feeling that she already caused her enough trouble.

Winry wasn't even aware that she had the strength to sit up, as another cough escaped her lips, causing her chest to ache as a result; not exactly the worst cough she had, but Winry instinctively realized that it was only going to become worse from here. There was nothing quite disgusting like those coughs that spewed mucus, which Winry had just accomplished in doing.

And there was possibly nothing else that could convince her to call out for Rose's assistance, despite the stubborn part of her conscience which was against it.

Winry's thoughts were still vivid in her mind as she was half-aware of the several knocks on the door which were meant to grab her attention.

"Winry? Are you okay?" Rose sounded hesitant, which could only mean one thing, in Winry's opinion. A sliver of guilt coursed through her veins, though she didn't get much of a chance to respond to her question, as Rose further inquired, "I know you're not feeling well, so would it be alright if I came in for a few minutes?"

Rose was a sweet and considerate person to even ask for permission to enter what was technically her own guest room; yet another thing that Winry found herself indebted for towards her friend: the fact that she had so carelessly allowed Winry to stay, no matter if she was troubling her or not.

Rose had helped her with so much, which planted a certain question within her mind: since she knew Edward and Alphonse so well, since she helped her relationship with Edward grow, did that mean she was doing it out of pity? Did Rose know that Winry had experienced memory loss?

Well, it felt like it had been forever since she had seen Rose to begin with; from what Winry could tell, she allocated a lot of her free time with her own boyfriend, of whom Winry had yet to officially meet. Though to be fair, Winry hadn't officially brought Edward home for dinner, yet Winry didn't think that mattered.

"Yeah," Winry croaked. She supposed it wouldn't hurt to ask for a glass of water or some orange juice, though the latter sounded (obviously) like a better option. She sarcastically remarked to herself that it wouldn't hurt to ask for five tonnes of Buckley's. Actually, on second thought, she would rather inhale twenty glasses of OJ than tolerate the bitter crap which was Buckley's. Despite the fact that she tried it before and it did miraculously help her in the long run. Though what was different this time around was that her grandmother wasn't here to force her to drink it.

"Oh, Winry," Rose said softly, with a tangent of sympathy laced in her voice. That only had to have meant that Winry looked like crap, though she could hardly bring herself to care at the moment. Yet maybe she did – Winry could feel how her light, shoulder-length blonde hair was clinging to her sweaty epidermis. It wasn't exactly a pleasant feeling.

"Do I look that bad?" Winry asked, though she wasn't sounding all self-conscious about it. Rose, thankfully, didn't turn the light on when she entered the room, so the only light that engulfed them both was the bathroom light from across the hallway.

"You don't want me to answer that," Rose sighed, as she laid a nurturing, feminine hand over Winry's forehead.

"Final verdict?" Winry remarked; Rose was more or less a mother hen to her, and Winry was mostly grateful for that.

"Fever. And from the looks of it, it'll be some time before it breaks," Rose explained. "If I knew that you were sick…" Winry knew what exactly was going on; the fact that Rose's eyes were gleaming with regret, as well as how she bit down on her lip in uncertainty, meant that Rose felt this was her fault.

Rose wasn't exactly not modest at all. Not when it came to Winry anyway.

"Don't feel bad. Because then I'll feel bad," Winry pouted. "And besides, I haven't been this sick for that long anyway." And she could fight through it; it wasn't as if Winry was dying or anything, although it kind of felt like it, but it would be a moot point if she went on to say she had not experienced what death was like. She wanted to live long and prosperously, thank you very much.

"Does Ed know?" This seemed like the perfect opportunity for Winry to ask about if Rose knew she experienced memory loss. It still irked her a little bit that she had conveniently forgotten Alphonse and Edward, but she was aware of who Rose was. And her granny.

"No he doesn't." Winry didn't find it within her to talk to Edward lately, which made her wonder if she was holding a grudge against someone for something that wasn't his fault. Winry shook her head, finding herself completely ridiculous; if he had told her who he was before, then Winry would have done all she could to make it up to him.

"Well, he's about to get a heads up," Rose sang, as a small, knowing smile flirted with her lips; this was her supposed way of showing how clever of a person she was. "Where's your phone?" And with that tone of voice, Rose was not expecting protest.

"Somewhere on the floor." Winry was pretty sure it was somewhere around her bed, but then again, she was terrible with relative location. "Are you seriously going to text him?"

"I'm doing more than that." Winry waited patiently as she could, awaiting for Rose to continue. She had an inkling what Rose was about to do, considering how her stomach was sinking even lower than she thought possible. "I'm going to have him come over."

**:3 :3 :3**

Winry was panicking. Yep. She was flustered. Extremely so. The chicken noodle soup that Rose managed to cook for her, out of the kindness of her heart, did nothing to settle her nerves. Neither did the orange juice, to be honest.

And she also had the uncontrollable urge to puke, which just reinforced the fact that she was nervous; annoyingly enough, she knew she was not going to be sick, but it didn't help at all that her heartbeat was pounding against her chest like she could not believe.

But what reason could she have to be nervous though? It should only be Edward though; it was just him – her boyfriend. The boy she was hopelessly in love with. And someone she could not help feel had betrayed her…She reasoned that it was normal to think that way. He was supposed to be coming over in less than twenty minutes, and Winry didn't know what she was going to say to him.

She was normally an eloquent lady who knew her way around words (she didn't mind her English classes after all): she more or less interacted around Edward with an honest and blunt aura. But this time seemed to be very different. Winry felt discomfort to be sure, and that was not just the anchor weighing down on her chest talking.

Winry wanted to be assertive and direct with him the moment he walked into her room. This had to be done, since she knew that her mind would be finally be eased; she truly, desperately needed to listen to what he had to say.

She believed it also had to be normal for her to think that he would think she appeared to be pretty disgusting; how could anyone like him date someone like her? What if he thought she was grotesque?

But he was still coming over. That kind of made her happy at least, but Winry didn't think that would last. But if she kept chanting these thoughts like a mantra, there was a slight possibility that they would be true.

"Winry? Can I come in?" Winry's baby blue eyes widened, as her heartrate accelerated exponentially; she had not expected him to be here so soon, but maybe she was dwelling in her contemplative mind for far too long to notice. And so, this caused her nerves to increase, and maybe that thought of throwing up didn't seem impossible after all.

"Yeah, come on in," Winry coughed, sitting back up on her behind, as she brushed her blonde hair away to the side. At least she would not look quite as gross.

Winry had to admit that the bedroom light didn't quite hurt her eyes as much as she was expecting it too, but she suspected Rose had dimmed them quite a bit. But Winry wasn't complaining; she knew she could see Edward just fine, and she couldn't help but smile, seeing that he was wearing his usual pair of jeans and (most importantly) a fitted crimson t-shirt: in other words, her favourite pair of clothes that he wore.

She would have to say that she loved his broad shoulders; that was one of her favourite physical features about him, as well as his braided hair… his automail leg… It was hard to pick one feature out of many that she admired.

"How are you feeling?" Winry could tell that Edward was somewhat uncomfortable, given that the emotion was etched unto his facial features. Not to mention that he was sitting on the very edge of her bed.

"Terrible," Winry moaned. "I just woke up like this one day." She could feel his gaze on her, though she knew that he was just concerned. She learned how to decipher his facial expressions ages ago.

"Not taking care of yourself enough?" Oh, Edward had no idea…

"I take care of myself just fine," Winry protested stubbornly, though with the sceptical look he was sending her way, there was no way he would believe her. "But I appreciate you coming to see me. Even if I look like crap."

"Rose wanted me to come over," was all he said, shrugging his shoulders, as he looked away for a brief moment or two.

"You're such a jerk. A hopeless jerk." This was nothing but playful banter, but it still didn't stop Edward from rolling his eyes. Winry wasn't expecting him to be a romantic, lovey-dovey boyfriend. But it would help if he would say something nice to her on a frequent basis. Sympathy, maybe?

"Listen, Edward, there's something I wanted to talk to you about." Well, it was now or never, so she might as well get this out of the way. There was no point in keeping this from him. "Granny told me that we knew each other as kids…" Winry paused to lick her dry lips, biting down hard on her lower lip to keep herself from tearing up. "I know what happened to me, but I want to know why you haven't told me about it."

And there it was: the flash of fear mixed with sadness reflected in his golden eyes, which did nothing to ease Winry's nerves.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" Winry whined, noting how Edward had opened his mouth to say something, but no words came out. She could say that by the way he was looking at her, he didn't know what to say. Almost as if he didn't think words could explain how he felt.

"I thought you weren't going to forgive me. It was my fault for what happened to you, ok?" Edward answered tensely, as his hands crumpled Winry's blankets in a tight grip. But if Winry didn't know any better, she would say that he was trying to stop himself from crying too.

"No, it wasn't your fault, but I wish you would have told me." Kind of a contradictory statement, but she couldn't care less.

"It haunted me every day since then… and even after what happened to my leg. It hurt too much just thinking about it," Edward explained, his voice cracking, and Winry knew it was a matter of time before he burst open with tears.

"So you thought you could spare me the pain," Winry said softly. "You and Granny… Did Rose know too?" She hadn't had the heart to ask her herself, after all what Rose did for her earlier. She would have felt immensely guilty if she aggressively demanded for answers.

"Yeah, she knew. Al did too." And then there was silence. Not the good kind of silence, but the awkward and close to uncomfortable silence that would forever haunt Winry unless she did something to dispense it. She was never used to this kind of quiet atmosphere around Edward.

"I just wish I was told," Winry raised her voice slightly, trying her best not to sound too irritated. "Because I still feel pretty guilty for putting you through that. Because I look at you all the time and I never thought twice about whether or not I knew you from childhood." She didn't think she felt this bad in her life, but hopefully she had the strength to pull through.

"That isn't your fault." Winry couldn't suppress the shivers of pleasure when she felt his hand touch her leg, caressing the blanket above it softly. It was almost as if he thought she was fragile, ready to be broken at any time.

"That isn't your call," Winry retorted. "You can say anything you want, but nothing makes a difference. I feel horrible."

"You've always been a crybaby, haven't you, Winry?" Was all Edward inquired, which confused Winry for a moment, before she realized there were tears streaming down her face.

"I am not." She reprimanded herself for allowing him to see how effected she was, which was incentive enough to wipe them away as quickly as possible. But any sense of annoyance was swept away when she saw the amused grin that Edward was sending her way. And of course her heart fluttered; if only he could smile like that for her more often…

"I should let you get some rest." Which was just another way of saying that he thought he was the last person that Winry wanted to see right now.

"Trying to be considerate I see," Winry stated, with a hint of a smile on her lips. But before she could say anything else, coughs began to arrive huskily; she could have sworn that they were far worse at this point.

"Drink this." Winry easily accepted the half-full glass of orange juice and chugged most of it down, not at all in a lady-like fashion. "That hit the spot." She failed to miss the look of concern that he once again showed her, which made her thoughts swirl around in a never ending confusing circle of doubt. Edward cared about her. She knew he did.

If there was a look she managed to fail to notice, it was adoring expression that Edward sported.

But both of them knew that this topic was far from being over.


	23. I Love You Too Much

**So who saw Captain America: Civil War? I think it is one of the best Marvel movies I have seen by far, and it is gloriously amazing… XD I'm totally up for writing a Bucky/OC or Captain America/OC; but maybe that's because I've read a whole bunch of fan fiction. LOL. **

**Over the years I've been on this site, I have never received any 'weird' reviews. Sure I'd get the occasional flame, but I've got a review the other day saying how my last chapter was odd. Not bad, but odd. LOL. **

**Tangled**

**Chapter 23: I Love You Too Much**

"We still need to talk about this." There was no way that Winry wanted this conversation to be over, despite how her initial questions had already been asked. She didn't care how long it took: she wanted this to be over with.

And it didn't matter at all that she was sick like there was no tomorrow. She had been more or less afraid that she wouldn't have the opportunities later on to ask Edward at all: she couldn't coward her way out of this.

"What else is there to talk about? You need to rest," Edward snorted, as he turned around fully, facing Winry: who was staring back at him relentlessly. And he thought he was the only one who could act like a stubborn jackass.

"No, I don't," Winry sneered in return, sticking out her tongue in a childish manner. She didn't care if she wasn't winning brownie points with her boyfriend: she felt kind of better on an emotional scale, after doing this for herself. "I still don't understand why you haven't told me before. I would not have hated you."

"Given the gravity of the situation, yes, you would have," Edward spat back. Though his tone of voice held venom, Winry suspected it wasn't directed towards her, given that his eyes were full of remorse and self-hatred. Winry could tell. Even when she was sick.

"You're assuming too much." Winry couldn't bring herself to hate anyone. It wasn't in her nature to. Even if she was tempted to test that theory on Edward, despite the bad feeling planted in her gut. Well, either way, this wasn't going to end well. "I went through something like that, and it's been how many years?" That was kind of meant to be a rhetorical question.

"Drink," Edward replied, handing her the cup of orange juice, and Winry knew better than to disobey; she could see how demanding he was. She snatched it, rolling her eyes in the process, and chugged the rest of the glass down.

"So this made me wonder what else you aren't telling me," Winry whispered solemnly. It occurred to her that throughout all these times when they hung out together, there were moments when Edward's facial expressions reflected sadness. And he wouldn't even tell her what the problem was; and now she knew.

"Do we really have to talk about this?" If Winry didn't know any better, she would have guessed that he sounded… scared. Ok, so maybe he was truly worried that she would despise him.

"Yeah. I know we had to at some point," Winry muttered, eyes facing down towards her blankets as if she spotted something interesting.

"If you really want to know, when you… got that concussion that day," Edward cleared his throat, almost as if he were trying to hide the way his voice cracked. That had to mean whatever he was about to say haunted him just as much as how Winry's dreams or memories haunted her. "You were in so much pain. And it was my fault; I was the one that goaded you to jump, but…" Winry couldn't see his eyes, as his bangs had fallen in front of his face; she figured that he was tearing up, and her heart completely sank. "After that, when Al got your Granny to come, you wouldn't stop crying. At some point, you were even telling me that you hated me. That it was my fault this happened. And that you didn't want to see me ever again."

Winry couldn't remember what happened after she fell off, so it was blurry to her. Which was why she couldn't find it within her heart to agree with him about the incident. Although she felt extremely, immensely guilty that she at the time had told him she hated him.

That made her sore throat ache more tremendously. It was an indescribable feeling.

And this also made her realize that this confirmed her worst fears though in a way: Edward wouldn't lie to her, despite the fact that he held back the truth from her. So maybe she was to blame. Because of her own reaction to the accident a long time ago, he stayed away from her. Maybe he felt it was easier for her to not be aware of his existence.

"And you thought things would be ok if you listened to me?" Winry didn't mean to sound irritated. Not really. But no doubt the majority of her conscience was screaming at her for a proper rest, after a large intake of vitamin C and delicious chicken noodle soup.

"You mean to say you'd take it well if I just showed up in Risembool on your granny's doorstep?"

"Yes." She wanted to believe that it was the truth, but deep, deep down, something told her that she wouldn't have taken it well if that did happen. In another universe, maybe. In another time…

"You're such a liar," Edward sighed, shaking his head in what seemed to be a disappointed manner.

"I am not," Winry rasped, as another cough roughly fled from her lips: which, in turn, caused Edward to instinctively pat her knee in further reassurance. He always seemed to give her comfort when she needed it the most, despite the fact that he actively tried to avoid her in the past…

"We're done talking about this. You need to get some sleep," Edward snapped.

"We're not done talking," Winry bit back, narrowing her eyes in contempt.

"You're being stubborn," he insisted, inching his way closer toward her; a sign that he wasn't planning on backing off anytime soon. Winry hoped that he had to realize that he wasn't exactly intimidating as he was letting on, apparently. Winry couldn't care less if she was being stubborn or not: she had to have her way this time.

"You're being cute when you're overprotective," Winry blurted out, and the minute she said these words, she felt her cheeks burning up a storm. Not that she had anything to worry about though – the two of them were casually dating, after all. But she wasn't exactly on planning to stroke his ego; so just why did she have to say the first thing that came into her mind?

"C-cute?" Edward stuttered, also quite taken back by Winry's sudden subject change.

"Shut up," Winry murmured. "I wasn't planning on saying that, okay?" There was no possibility of her forgetting about this cringe-worthy moment for a long, long time. And she had a feeling that Edward wasn't going to let it go either.

"But on a serious note, I don't want to forget we had this discussion," Winry stated. No ifs, ands or buts about it: even if she was sick, Winry's tone of voice held authority.

"You think I want to?" Winry wasn't an idiot: she would appreciate it if Edward wasn't treating her like one.

"Considering how you keep telling me to rest…" There wasn't any point in continuing that sentence, Winry thought to herself.

"Because you do need to rest. You won't get any better quicker," Edward retorted in a matter of fact tone, as she moved even closer by Winry's side. She guessed that he wasn't turned off at all by her little comment from before.

"I will get better. It's not like I'm gonna die," Winry stated, almost like she was waving off Edward's unnecessary concern. But judging from the hurt look that flashed across his face, she knew she had said something she shouldn't have. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I know that your mom…"

"It's fine," Edward took a deep breath in and out, not sounding like he wanted to lose his patience with her. It was one thing for Winry to comment so nonchalantly about how French fries tasted better with ranch dip than ketch-up, a subject worthy of unleashing his temper upon, but it was another thing entirely to talk about his mother. Time never seemed to heal old wounds. And certainly not with the case of losing his mother at a young age, not too long after Winry had lost some of her memories.

"You're scared that something would happen to me, aren't you?" She wasn't attempting to pry into matters that shouldn't concern most people; she thought that she knew Edward well enough.

"I'm not that scared," he protested, but Winry could see through that quicker than you could say 'The Flash'.

"And you say I'm a liar."

"That's because it's true," Edward said flatly. "Now go to sleep."

"Excuse you?" Despite the initial annoyance she felt when he was openly rude, she liked his attitude. Not that Winry would ever tell him that. "If you want me to go to sleep, you need to give me a goodnight kiss," Winry teased, sending a smirk in his direction.

"And I thought you still wanted to talk about this."

"I just so happened to realize that there's no point in talking about something that you refuse to," Winry sighed, her lips frowning. "I don't hate you at all, you know. I just wish you could have told me sooner." Did that mean that she was going to look at him in an entirely new light? She knew that there was no way their relationship would be the same as before; from this point onward, things were changing. Not necessarily in a bad way.

"Would you… still want to meet my family then?" For the second time, Edward sounded pretty uncertain of himself; not that she would witness Edward's insecurities on a regular basis, but on the other hand, she was glad that he was just like everyone else. But that didn't mean he wasn't special to her.

"Why wouldn't I?" Did that mean he never believed her when she said she didn't hate him? "I mean, I'm still kind of upset about this whole thing… but that will take time, obviously, to get over."

"You must love me that much, huh?" The smirk that Edward donned on his lips almost reached his eyes, Winry noted to herself.

"Yeah. I do love you, Ed." Wait, wait, wait: did she just say what she thought she said? If there was one thing that caused her emotions to fluctuate, it was her confession. Hell, she hadn't even planned on telling Edward as of this moment of how she felt… This wasn't exactly the best time, given that this was kind of the first real fight they had as a couple.

Sleep sounded right just about now… Because Winry didn't really want to know how Edward would react; she knew that he never had a girlfriend before and she highly doubted that there girls who would proclaim their love for him any day of the week.

But what would it take for him to realize that Winry meant what she said? For the most part?

She tried asking herself if it was way too soon for her to tell him her feeling. Edward knew how much she liked him, but love? Love was something that should be unconditional; love should be meaningful; love shouldn't be tossed around like clothes: as if you could grow out of it later. But it did happen. She's seen 500 Days of Summer; she surmised that unrequited love was the worst, but it was all trial and error.

She also had to take into account that they were fifteen: Winry should have guessed she was too young to know what romantic love was supposed to be like. But she had classmates who went out with each other just for the sake of it. But not her.


	24. Edward's Ultimatum

**So we've got about 10 or so chapters left of this story; I know, I know, I said that it'll end soon… but from the way I've planned things, the story will end around chapter 33. **

**I appreciate all the feedback from last chapter: it really means a lot! :D**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 24: Edward's Ultimatum**

He felt extremely overwhelmed. Greatly so. Edward couldn't really put it into words of how nervous he felt at this moment. There were bursts of panic that flooded his veins, which definitely made the possibility of throwing up become more than just a possibility.

He was a teenaged boy (a teenage boy with active hormones nevertheless), yet to turn sixteen, and it was perfectly normal to feel anxious. Or was it? It was not every day that someone other than his brother or his mother had told him that they loved him. It no doubt caused his heart to sink, not in a 'bad' way obviously… but in an unexpected way.

Love wasn't something that Edward didn't think he could get from anyone else; he could have cared less about finding a girlfriend, but since Winry came back into his life… He didn't think he could let the pretty little blonde go. And he wasn't lying about what he told her earlier either; he didn't think she would still care about him, even after what happened so many years ago…

Without so much of a care in the world, Winry confessed her feelings for him. Edward in some ways felt that was a big mistake on her part.

She loved him. She loved someone like him. Despite the fact that it was his fault that she couldn't remember him. And he had been prepared to let her go, if it meant that she would be happy with someone else. And yet they had to bump into each other on the streets of Liore. This just had to happen. And it could only go terribly, but Edward had come to accept the fact that he was a terrible person.

He could have continued to treat her as if she was dirt, but deep down, Ed knew that he couldn't forgive himself for hurting her even more. No doubt that she would also try and push her luck trying to befriend him. And now look what happened.

He found himself wanting more of her company; he was a selfish bastard and there was no use arguing against that.

He just had to find contentment with her enchanting eyes, her soft, silky hair, her flawless skin, her light, feminine voice, and even when she was mad at him, Edward loved it.

He loved the way how her hand fit perfectly with his own; he loved how she would take notice of his automail leg; he loved how she was willing to spend time with his brother; she was basically someone who deserved much better than Edward. It wouldn't be the first time that he made her cry over something that he said in the heat of the moment.

Edward couldn't even sag in relief, as he found herself by her bedside, watching over Winry, who had fallen asleep only five minutes ago. Though he promised himself that he was only there to take care of her, he couldn't help but ponder on her words.

It just occurred to him that he loved her too. So damn much. He loved her so much that it physically pained him to admit it.

Then why couldn't he have said it back? Why did he feel like there was a lump in his throat? It was because he was scared; he had never done any of this before. He didn't exactly want this to be a fleeting love. If Ed was going to tell someone that he loved them, he had to mean it.

And maybe he was scared a bit over the fact that she was sick. Which reminded him of the illness that his mother caught before she passed away, and that was something that would consistently haunt him, no matter how much he would rather forget.

Edward was not being overprotective, as Winry put it; he was just being cautious. He just didn't want to lose anyone he cared about to the way he lost his mother. And it was bad enough that he lost his leg in an accident not even two years after the incident with Winry…

He liked to think that if there was a God out there, he had a penchant for making him suffer. He wasn't at all religious, but he wasn't atheist either, as some people assumed he was. But there were times when he went down on his knees and prayed; once, when he wanted his mother to get better, but that did not go his way. The second time was when Winry spent the night recovering from her concussion, and Edward desperately wanted her to get better. Funny how God never heard him then either. He never really prayed when he lost his leg, however: he was more concerned with Al's recovery at the time.

"Ed?" Rose's voice, as well as the incessant touch of her fingertips on his cheekbones, called him back to the present. Using his peripheral vision, he noticed that she was standing beside him, and no doubt that she looked concerned. Not that he'd blame her.

"Yeah? What is it?" Edward yawned, as he lifted his arms to stretch his sore muscles; it made him ponder on how long he had stayed here in Winry's room. To be honest, it felt like hours since he had stopped by. But he promised her that he would stay for a while, even if the prospect of watching her sleep seemed questionable. They were still in the early stages of dating after all.

"How was Winry handling everything?" Rose inquired, sounding a tad bit anxious. "I know she wouldn't hate you, but I just want to make sure." Rose was more self-conscious than she let on sometimes; she tended to worry about people's thoughts about her than anything else.

"Did you tell her that you knew about this too?" Edward snorted, shaking his head in disbelief. He didn't have to look at her to know that Rose was probably guilty about this; good old Granny Rockbell had not just been in contact with him (though not as frequent as he would have liked) but with Rose too. To make sure that Winry was being cared for.

"No. I couldn't bring myself to." Then there was an awkward pause; it wasn't as if Ed and Rose were the best of friends, but there was only so much they could talk about. It also didn't help that she used to date his younger brother.

"She'll probably get mad at you. But I don't think she'd hate you either," Ed stated, ignoring the feeling of dread washing over him. At least, he hoped what he was saying was true. That was if he knew Winry as well as he let on, she wasn't capable of hating anybody, though there was no doubt she could hold a good vendetta.

"I'm hoping so. How's Al, by the way?"

"Why don't you talk to him yourself?" Edward scoffed, rolling his eyes for good measure. After the two broke up, it was no secret that Al and Rose avoided each other like the plague. Despite the claim that they wanted to be friends. Yet that never stopped the whole break-up process from being messy and ugly.

Ed wanted no part in delivering messages for the two of them like he was one of those owls from Harry Potter.

"I just thought I'd ask, Ed," Rose sighed, with her arms crossed, and lips pursed in a firm, unreadable expression.

"You were the one that broke up with him in the first place, right?" He grunted, as he finally took his eyes off Winry to stare blankly toward Rose.

"I didn't mean to hurt him. You know that." They could keep talking about this all they wanted, but it wasn't going to change things for the better. Edward didn't get the full scoop from Al about what happened; only that Rose didn't think they were compatible, that they should be better off with other people, and how it should have happened sooner rather than later. Alphonse was more or less upset about the whole thing, but he was getting over it like a rational human being, Ed supposed. And from what he discovered, Alphonse had met someone else, and he was almost positive that he was smitten.

"That's what everyone says after they dumped someone," Edward responded sarcastically, his tone of voice more venomous than what he intended.

"You can hate me all you want. I'm pretty sure that you wouldn't be doing your job as a big brother if you didn't. But, I had my reasons," Rose explained, tucking strands of hair behind her ear. "But we can talk about this later."

"You mean after you make out with your new boyfriend?" Ed cursed underneath his breath, as he felt Rose slap him at the back of his head. For someone who never believed violence was the answer to anything, she had a mean right hook.

"I don't even know how you found out about that, but it's not like I care, right?" she hissed, raising her voice slightly. As far as Rose knew, the only person she told about her blossoming love life was Winry. And she could always trust her to keep that a secret. Oh…

"The baby is sleeping," Edward smirked, his eyes flickering in Winry's direction. "So you might want to keep quiet."

"Oh, please. That girl can sleep through just about anything." At one point, Winry was telling Rose how often she slept in after going through so many all-nighters back home in Risembool; it was extremely unlikely that she would be able to get up if there was a thunderstorm happening at the moment.

"But on a serious note, I'm glad that you and Winry sorted things out." Edward raised his eyebrows at this, but said nothing in response. Though he could have interrupted any time he wanted to. "I just want her to be happy." Which was another way of saying that he better not break her heart. Or there would be hell to pay.

"You don't need to tell me that." Which was another way of saying that he was planning on keeping that in mind. He wasn't the kind of person to display his affections in public, so if anyone knew him well, this was the closest thing that he would admit to telling her that he liked Winry the way she was.

"I actually kind of have to. You know, since I'm her best friend." And an overprotective one at that.

"Sure you are." Who knew that Edward Elric would have a sense of humour? Not that many people would have taken the chance to get to know him.

"You know, you've really changed," Rose noted, with a knowing smile growing on her lips. Whereas Edward's easygoing body language had dissipated into discomfort entirely. His facial features went back to being completely void of any emotion other than annoyance.

"Is that supposed to mean something?" You could call him a little salty for being called out on something like this.

"Calm down, short stuff, I'm not insulting you." Rose wasn't at all intimidated by the malicious glare that Edward was sending her way; she knew how much he hated being called short, though she didn't mean to call him this intentionally. "I'm saying it's a good thing."

"You don't really know me that well then." Straight up lie. Rose wasn't that stupid. Another thing to note, which was definitely interesting, was how his cheeks were burning. Rose had good night vision, and it was easy to tell by his body language if he was embarrassed or not.

"I do know you that well. I remember when you first came to Liore; you were just panicky with everyone, but luckily for you, I was willing to be your friend," Rose sang, happening to ignore yet another eye roll from Ed's direction. "You couldn't have been what… ten years old? Or maybe you were twelve…"

"I was nine, thank you very much," Ed spat. "And since you've got a fantastic memory, you were trying to convert me to Christianity." Right after his mother's death, his godparents had made a point to convince Edward and Alphonse to live with them in Liore, given that they had no other relatives in Risembool. Well, technically, as Al pointed out, they did have their father they could turn to, but Edward didn't give a damn about him: seeing that their father was a deadbeat bastard who made their mom cry more times than they could count.

And at that point, Edward still had it drilled through his head that Winry still hated him and never wanted to see him again; there couldn't have been a better opportunity to leave. Since Winry did have people she cared about, and he was worried that his presence would do nothing but cause even more pain for her.

His godparents knew about what happened and he didn't expect them to understand. Even though Izumi had flat out told him that it wasn't his fault.

"You looked like you needed someone to help you. If I would have known you're agnostic…" This would have been a different story.

"No. I straight up told you that I'm agnostic. Of course you wouldn't remember that."

"Well, we can take this discussion to the living room, if you want to set the record straight that badly," Rose snickered, noting the dumbfounded look on Edward's face.

To be perfectly honest, it was pretty easy to rile him up, though that was something that Rose hoped would never change.


	25. Family is Family

**Ok, ok, let's get this show on the road: I don't really have an author's note this time around, other than the usual 'please let me know what you think'. XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 25: Family is Family**

The next couple of days passed without incident. Fortunately for her, she got better than she expected to, thanks to Rose's assistance. But Winry couldn't deny the fact that there was a little bit of tension that developed between her and Rose. She had yet to even confront her whether if she knew she had experienced memory loss. Winry still had mixed feelings about that. Not that she was willing to dwell on them now.

She had all the time in the world to ask Rose this question. But for now, Winry was more concerned about meeting Edward's family. Technically, she had already met Alphonse, but this would be the first time she'd meet their godparents. In short, this was the closest thing to meeting his family as it could get. And Winry certainly wasn't complaining.

She was nervous. Actually, that was the understatement of the year. She was damned terrified about the prospect of meeting his family… What if they didn't like her, though she liked them? What if she didn't like them and yet they could like her? That was a terrifying thought to wrap her head around.

Was this too soon in their relationship for them to meet? Or was Winry just being bonkers? Or maybe she had watched too many episodes of How I Met Your Mother with Rose, which she slightly regretted, since Rose was positive that Winry was going to have thirty three babies with Edward someday.

As Winry found herself scavenging her clothes, panic started to build up. After all, she was at it for about twenty minutes and she still couldn't find anything worth wearing. It was damned frustrating. If only she had a real taste for fashion. If she did, things would be so much easier.

When she texted Ed two days ago, when she felt like 100% better, she figured she wanted to meet his family as soon as she was able to. What was the worst that could happen? At least, that was what she thought at the time.

Dear God, this was annoying. She had to pick something that was bound to make them think she's classy.

Winry muttered to herself, noting that she should have done laundry last night; considering some of her shirts stank of armpit sweat. Not exactly clothes she would consider wearing, even in general.

What about her black tube top? If she paired that up with her dark skinny jeans, Winry figured she would look fine. The question, however, was if she could find her strapless bra. Then, she would be all set to go, and her tears of frustration would have been for nothing.

"Hey, how's it going in there?" Rose tapped on the bedroom door, as she strode into Winry's mess of a bedroom. Not that she was there to judge or anything.

"I think I know what I'm going to wear," Winry said absentmindedly, almost as if she hadn't heard Rose at all. But she was present, and Winry's instincts were screaming at her to say something to her to get the ball rolling.

"I haven't seen you this upset in a while," Rose snickered. Both of them knew that this was supposed to be a joke, yet Winry knew better than that; Winry did not exactly hide her sorrows this past week, concerning her talk with her grandma. Rose was the one who witnessed all of her bad moments. She was there for her the best she could.

"I have every reason to," Winry snorted, as she finally directed a knowing look towards Rose. "There was something I wanted to talk to you about."

"Yeah?" Rose made her way towards Winry's bed, trying her best not to step on any of the pairs of jeans or t-shirts that Winry recklessly tossed about. Did it irk Rose somewhat that Winry hardly made an effort to keep her clothes clean? A little bit. On just about any other day, Winry often used the washing machines, whether to get rid of these annoying grease stains on her favourite halter top or otherwise. Rose could practically count all the times that Winry cursed to herself after spotting an unwelcome stain on her jeans, but Rose knew she kind of deserved it: considering that they were usually on the floor.

"I know you heard me talk to my grandma the other day," Winry began, as she half-heartedly folded some of her black tops and placed them neatly into her drawer. "So I was just wondering… did you also know? About my memory loss?" She couldn't coward her way out of this like she could with playing Scrabble with her grandma.

"Do you want the easy answer or the hard answer?" In other words, Rose was asking her if she wanted to talk to her about this now, even if Winry wasn't technically busy, what with… sorting her clothes and all.

"I want the right one," Winry once again huffed, with her hands resting on her hips. She wasn't going to back down from this topic and neither was Rose. "I should have asked you this before, but then I got sick."

"Honestly, I didn't even know about it until you arrived here earlier this summer," Rose admitted. She was looking at the floor, with her bangs hiding her eyes. That was signifying that Rose was feeling guilty about keeping it from her, just like everyone else Winry knew.

"Granny just wanted to protect me, huh?" Winry sighed, as she suddenly realized that she couldn't find it within her to be angry at all. Her earlier thoughts might have projected what she should have been feeling, but those were just her thoughts. Her heart, on the other hand, made it a mission to disobey her on every whim. Her heart was telling her differently, and that should be reason enough as to why she was annoyed. Or maybe Winry still needed time to figure things out, and no doubt that was the case. She shouldn't even be rushing these kinds of things: she should be taking the time to distract herself. She should be relaxing. She should be doing things that made her happy. But instead, Winry kept reminding herself at every turn that the people she loved betrayed her. That she should be angry about it.

"Yeah. That was her reasoning. She didn't want to make you worry; you were working so hard back home, from what she told me," Rose confessed, which caused Winry's throat to tighten; she successfully blinked away the tears that were starting to form in her eyelids. Winry knew that she was through with crying… Or maybe it was just the rough half an hour she had trying to pick an outfit.

"You know why I work hard. You know that I wanted to help my grandma out ever since my parents passed away…" Winry sighed, blowing air out of her lips. "If I get stressed, I know what I do to cope. But if I got told about my memory loss sooner…"

"You know it's not your fault, right?" Rose inquired, as she clutched her floral printed dress. "If anything, your grandma was scared to know how you'd react. She just wanted you to live as stress-free as possible."

"I guess so," Winry conceded. "But I still let myself freak about it anyway." Not that there was any other reasonable, rational reaction to have anyway. All she thought about at night was how she lost her memory; she continued to reflect on the fact that she had been living her life recently as a different person. Just who was Winry Rockbell supposed to be anyway? She thought she had given up on that question, but maybe she hadn't. She could think about this all she wanted to and nothing would change.

"That is what's keeping you up at night," Rose said in an understanding tone. "Believe me, I know this because of all the empty milk glasses by the sink."

"Somebody has to drink it," Winry protested. She was more of a dairy inhaler than Rose was, although Winry noticed she was buying almond milk as of recently.

"That's so not the point. You've been thinking about this way too much." And she's never said anything: these unspoken words were shining through Rose's dark chestnut eyes. "Maybe I was wrong to leave you to yourself. I knew that something was up with you, but I didn't…"

"I think we can both take responsibility for that." They weren't kids anymore – they couldn't exactly point fingers at each other and demand that any authority figure should believe them…

"That's very mature of you, Winry," Rose grinned, as some of the tension that was floating around in the air from before had dissipated. Winry stuck her tongue out in response but didn't say anything. She did want to prove a point, to be honest.

"But I take it that you talked about this with Edward when he was here?" Rose seemed almost hopeful by this possibility, so Winry couldn't really lie to her. If being angry took so much of a toll on her, then why would lying be any different?

"Yeah. I just wanted to get things right with him," Winry confirmed, nodding her head, as she made her way to sit beside Rose. "He thinks it was all his fault."

"I'm not surprised," Rose heavily sighed. "Ever since he came here, he put on this front. A tough one too. It was kind of hard to crack, so I knew that something was wrong that made him so… guarded." Winry nodded, with a look of focus planted on her face. "For the first year he was here, he made it clear that he didn't care about making friends with anyone else. But I made it a point by the next summer that he should open up to other people. When I met Al, he was kind of the same way." Winry widened her eyes at that; from the times she had interacted with him, Alphonse was the kind of guy that would listen to other people AND socialize. She never would have guessed that he'd act the same way Ed did. But, as she just learned, they were brothers… and they tended to have surprising similarities.

"I learned not to push my buttons with them," Rose explained, with a somewhat dreamy expression that she was giving off. "And then a year later, I met you. Remember? I didn't know at the time that you were the girl that they thought they hurt. I was treating you like everyone else that I knew."

"I appreciate that you did that. Even if you had known that we had all known each other, there was no way I would have believed you," Winry chuckled, as she scratched the back of her head.

"Ed must have loved you since childhood to make this huge effort to keep this from you." Rose paused momentarily, before choosing her next set of words. "He didn't want to see you so stressed out either. I knew that him leaving Risembool was also because of your grandma's say so."

"I guess that explains why she didn't seem too happy whenever I mentioned him on the phone," Winry said to herself, though in a detached manner. She slightly frowned, realizing that they had all overreacted in this tangled mess of a situation. Her grandma had most likely blamed Alphonse and Edward for what happened, so it was possible she couldn't look at them knowing that they had to be responsible for what happened to her. So she wanted them gone. She wanted every reminder of her granddaughter's injury to be gone.

Winry slightly felt sick for thinking about that.

"But I know that she regretted it as soon as it happened though," Rose continued, much to her relief. "So she tried contacting Edward in recent years, and I guess they forgave each other, from what Ed told me."

"I appreciate you telling me this, but I don't know how to process this…" In all actuality, Winry was sure to reflect upon this new information, but she knew for certain she still did not want to talk to her grandma just yet. "I want to be angry at you guys still for keeping this from me."

"I wouldn't blame you if you did." If Rose had started off with hints, things could have turned out differently. "But I want you to promise me something though. If you can't get to sleep, can you at least text me? I know you're going to be meeting Ed's godparents and maybe a little sleepover, but can you promise me that? That if you're not able to get to sleep, you'll have a late night call?" Rose looked desperately worried about her, and it didn't help that she suddenly clutched Winry's hand.

"I promise I'll talk to you." She would do her best to keep her promises: that was a fact.

"It doesn't have to be me, but even if you say something to Edward, it would make me feel better." She did not at all sound presumptuous or obnoxious about it. Rose was being genuinely kind towards her, even if she knew there was a possibility that Winry never wanted to fraternize with her ever again. It made her think though… that she wouldn't have been a better person than what she was when she was little: she remembered what Ed said about how she apparently hated him.

"I promise, I promise." Winry even waved her hands up in defense, as she pulled away from Rose's grasp.

"But now that's out of the way, for now," Rose added, seeing Winry was relaxing somewhat since she had first come into the bedroom. "How about we get you ready?"

Winry couldn't agree more. A deep sense of relief and contentment washed over her, which made her impending headache becoming less of a threat. Physically, she felt healthy: she no longer had the urge to puke up her innards. No longer did Winry feel as if she were about to die. Emotionally, she felt somewhat tired: Winry didn't think she had the tendency to overanalyze everything, but this experience had taught her otherwise. She did need to relax, and avoiding any potential problems definitely did not solve anything.

Winry knew that she had the ability to put this behind her. She shouldn't be cutting anybody from her life, and even if she could, it had to be an emotional detachment. But that didn't need to happen.

Winry was resilient and she practically persevered in anything she excelled at, in terms of her work. With this situation in mind, she hoped that she couldn't let this bring her down anymore. The kind of thinking that she had dwelled upon had done nothing but let her mind run around in circles. It didn't make any sense for her to keep doing that.

Winry knew she was fully committed to using her strengths whenever necessary. If she proved herself to be strong as she let on, even before this whole mess took place, she could grow as a person. But if this never happened at all… Winry didn't know how things would be different.

She had a good sense of humour resting on her shoulders: she could keep things light and bouncy, but when things were going bad for her – and anyone else – she knew what would help.

She could get outside of herself, but given that she needed good old common sense get knocked back into her, she could now focus more on the people she cared about. She could feel how happy she'd be whenever she received a thanks for her work on someone's prosthetic. If she opened the door for someone, Winry knew that she could have made someone's day.

"Winry? You okay?" If Rose didn't know any better, she would say that Winry was off into space again: going where no man had gone before. No Star Trek references intended.

"I was just thinking… about how nice it is not to worry about this anymore." It was the truth, and with the way she was smiling, Rose believed it.

"That's good. Because you are so much prettier when you're happy," Rose teased, as she tugged on Winry's earlobe. "Even Ed thinks so."

"I'm sure he does," Winry nonchalantly agreed, shrugging her lean shoulders. "He doesn't really have to remind me on my looks." She knew that by the way he looked at her sometimes, Ed loved what he saw. No question. And she just so happened to love everything about him: whether superficial qualities or personality wise (though he had to wrestle with her to get her to admit that), she loved him.

"But doesn't it incite butterflies when he tells you how beautiful you are?" Rose's grin grew wider, though Winry was sure not to fall for that trick. Of course it would amuse her if she had gotten her to blush.

"I'm sure you would want to know that, but as you said, I have to get ready." With a wink and a confident smile handed out to Rose, Rose knew for sure that things would get back to the way they were supposed to be. But she would be lying if she said she wasn't scared that she'd been anticipating Winry to reject her.

"But what about you and your boyfriend? Does he incite anything for you?"

"Winry!" Now it was Winry's turn to release a heartwarming laugh, seeing the way Rose's cheeks put on a lovely coat of pink.

Winry only needed to take things one step at a time.


	26. Why Didn't You Realize

**I'm so happy that I left you guys with so many feels. LOL. Then I hope you'll enjoy this chapter: a little more EdWin fluff for the win! XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 26: Why Didn't You Realize**

Winry felt nothing but bliss consume her, as she adjusted her dark tube top accordingly. After all, she didn't want to accidentally flash her cleavage to any unsuspecting witness. But she reminded herself that she had worn clothes like this before; it shouldn't be a big deal. But truth be told, it was kind of a big deal what she was wearing this time around. Winry was looking for a decent impression; she hoped to leave some sort of positive impact with Ed's family.

Just thinking about this caused excitement and anxiety to course through her veins. But as Rose would tell her, she'd try to make those nervous feelings morph into something more positive.

She could totally do this: Winry was as friendly, kind-hearted, and compassionate as much as the next girl. All she had to do was be herself and things should turn out for the best.

It helped that Edward was texting her at that moment to help keep her sane. She smiled, as she opened up her inbox to see a new message. _**You ready yet?**_

He was impatient. As usual. But in this case, Winry was willing to let it slide.

**Almost. I still have to fix my hair.** Truthfully, Winry wasn't sure what she could do with her hair. Since she had gotten some of it cut, Winry had narrowed down her options on how she could do her hair. But she supposed a headband would make her pin-straight locks look cuter. She looked mature enough in her outfit, so maybe she wouldn't wear much make-up either. Not that she had a lot of it.

_**I don't get why you have to waste your time doing that, but whatever**_. Winry snorted. He could have put it nicely to her that she looked fine the way she was. Instead, he had to show how much he cared by hiding behind veiled insults. Supposed insults.

**I want to look nice, Ed. **No point on arguing with him some more on this.

Winry didn't bother to check to see if he bothered texting her back. Instead, she focused on her reflection in the mirror. Yes, she liked to say that she was proud of how she looked. Her tube top didn't feel suffocating nor would she be afraid of the possibility of her boobs popping out; in fact, now that she was thinking about it, this was one of the most comfortable pieces of clothing she owned. Her dark leggings hugged her curves in every way, enhancing her hips and her legs. No doubt that Ed would notice how attractive she looked. Winry knew that he liked women with nice legs, there was no denying that, as she recalled the one time when she went over to his place; there they were, innocently lying on the couch, watching a movie, and she could feel his gaze settle on her bare legs.

She felt pretty enticing back then. And it would be even more enticing when he saw her; she really wanted to impress him as well, and there was no shame in her admitting that.

**:3 :3 :3**

Edward wasn't patient. There. He admitted it.

And when he was impatient, he was bound to become antsy. In this case, he was anxious, but that seemed to be an underestimation. He would be damned if he let himself go berserk, considering that he was going to introduce Winry to his godparents. That was the nicest way of saying that he was peer pressured into doing that. In actual fact, Ed was terrified of how it would go; Izumi was a pretty intimidating person. First impressions could go either way, and deep down, Edward didn't want things to go terribly.

"You're doing it again," Alphonse announced, as he leaned against the frame of Ed's bedroom door, taking notice of his nervousness.

"Doing what?" There was no way that Edward would allow his little brother to see how frightened he was. He had to swallow the heaviness in his throat several times before he had to try to convince him otherwise.

"Trembling in fear," Al said nonchalantly, though he didn't stop himself from grinning widely. So it was apparent that he liked to see his older brother suffer. That little shit. "You do realize you're overthinking things, right?"

"I'm not overthinking anything," Edward grunted, as he checked his phone again for another text from Winry. He snorted, as she had just told him that she wanted to look nice. If he had a problem with that, he could take a stick and shove it up somewhere. Not that she said that, but it was pretty much implied.

"You're too tense, brother." Alphonse paused momentarily, as Edward scratched the back of his head in an annoyed fashion. "But you do look great. Winry's gonna love you in that."

"Shut up, Al," Edward hissed, as he felt his cheeks colour themselves crimson.

Despite his embarrassed façade, Ed knew that he had chosen something that Winry would like of course. Ed did feel comfortable in black; he wasn't the kind of guy who would exhibit bright colours. No, dark colours were more his synthetic than anything else. They were his comfort zone. They didn't scream much attention for him. Not to mention that he looked awkward as hell in sweatpants…Which was why he was adamant on donning his usual dark jeans, and to top it off, a black collared button-down. With a couple buttons unbuttoned, obviously, revealing a sneak peak of his collarbone.

He figured that this was formal enough, until Al reminded him twenty minutes ago that he needed to put on some aftershave and cologne. If Izumi knew that Edward had practiced some unhygienic practices in the past, she would kill him at the front door.

"So is Winry coming over here first or are you going to pick her up?"

"What do you think?" His cheekbones burned darker than before, as Ed's eyes avoided Alphonse's inquisitive gaze.

"You're the perfect gentleman," was all Alphonse said. "You're just too nice."

"You know better than anyone that I'm not that nice," Edward retorted.

"And we both know that's not true. You helped her out when she was sick, remember? And when you bumped into each other for the first time, you walked her back home," Alphonse explained, crossing his arms. "Last time I checked, nice guys don't do that."

"Just because we've got everything worked out now, that doesn't mean you have to start prodding me." Edward couldn't really take compliments well, which definitely defined him as the modest type. When it came to associating himself with other people, he would downplay his behaviour. Sure, he showed how he cared about others, but there were tons of others that had no problem displaying happy-go-lucky dispositions.

"Why can't you just take a simple thank you?" Al sighed, pouting to himself. But it wouldn't do any good to Ed, who knew that he was doing this to arouse some sort of guilt from him. "It would be so much easier if you did."

"Things aren't ever easy," Edward stated simply, shrugging his shoulders as a meager response. He knew the hard lesson to that, seeing what happened to his leg. There were times when he didn't think he could pull through, but he was fortunate enough to have Alphonse with him. But that didn't stop him from thinking about Winry for the past few years. That only made the journey to recovery more difficult.

"You're philosophical today. Is something else wrong?" Alphonse asked cautiously.

"No. Why?"

"I was just wondering. I haven't seen you this tense before. Not since…" Both boys knew that he was referring to the night when Edward got fitted with an automail leg for the first time. Edward didn't think he had cried so much since his mother died. It wasn't a time where he felt emotionally stable; at that point, as far as he was concerned, he thought that life was paying him back.

"I'm fine, Al. You don't need to worry about me so much," Edward assured him, trying his best to be convincing.

"Somebody has to worry about you. Izumi does too." Edward nearly snorted at this in skepticism; Izumi showed her concern for her godchildren the same way she handled every other problem – by beating the crap out of them. One could say that she abused her power as an authority figure, but Edward and Alphonse would reluctantly admit that was who she was. Unfortunately. Which was why Edward made it a point to keep a lot of things from her until the time was right. Not that he had ever regretted doing so in the past…

"There's no need. I'm fine now." He didn't want to worry Alphonse more so than he had in the past: there was no escaping the guilt that flooded his veins whenever Alphonse voiced his concerns.

"Whatever you say, big brother. Well, I wish you guys the best of luck." And Alphonse looked all too pleased for some reason. Edward didn't like it, he decided.

"What, you're not coming with us?" It would make things a little bit easier for them; plus, Izumi would no doubt want both boys to be over, and he would know how she would respond if she learned that Al had other plans. There was no fooling her for the most part.

"I've got other plans," Alphonse responded slowly. Edward scavenged his mind to determine what kind of plans that his brother had allegedly. He knew for a fact that he didn't have a large scope of friends, so going out to any parties was highly unlikely. Al was more likely to spend his time volunteering at an animal shelter than he would at any large social gathering. Edward had concluded long ago that his largest flaw was extending his heart out to all those poor animals who had no home; Alphonse had a big heart, and it was questionable that Edward had one too.

"Really?" Edward asked, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. "You know that Izumi will kick your ass if you're lying."

"I know, Ed, I know. Which is why I'm not lying."

"Don't tell me you have a girlfriend." It was a reasonable assumption; in times past, Al was always willing to be glued by his brother's side, given that he was more comfortable. But now, Alphonse was out and about these days. He had dated Rose for some time but that didn't work out, so who knows: maybe his social life had expanded in the past few months.

"I might be seeing somebody, but that's a story for another day." Leave it to Alphonse to act all casual about it. Edward shouldn't be poking his nose into his brother's business, but as long as he was being considerate, he shouldn't have to interfere.

"I'm sure."

**:3 :3 :3**

"Well don't you look pretty," Rose whistled in approval, as Winry walked into the living room.

"Thanks," Winry responded cordially, as she twirled a lock of blonde hair with her pointer finger. Truth was, it took a bit more time to get ready than what she originally planned. Her headband did wonders to add something similar to flair to her shoulder-length hair, the lip gloss she donned had done wonders to her lips (she guaranteed herself that Ed wouldn't be able to keep his lips off of hers), and her clothes weren't bunching up on her. Winry didn't need any underwear wedgies to mess up her groove for the evening.

"Ed won't know what to do once he sees you in that." Rose had been occupied with watching Lilo and Stitch, of all things, with a bucket of popcorn, but she took more entertainment in the fact that Winry was blushing daintily.

"Oh stop it. You're just saying that." Truth was, they both knew that Rose wasn't just saying that for the sake of it.

"I'm just saying; Ed's gonna think you're drop dead gorgeous."

"That's exactly the look I'm going for," Winry deadpanned, snorting in amusement, as she took a seat on the couch. "Because I didn't have anything else." The only thing she went shopping for was a new pair of jeans and that was way back in July…

"To be fair, wasn't this whole family meeting last minute?" Rose was teetering on the edge of her seat, with an interested countenance.

"Yes, it was spur of the moment, but if we're getting serious here, this has to happen sometime," Winry explained.

"That reminds me. You are staying here until the end of August, right?" Rose interjected, brushing her dark hair over her shoulder, though bits of popcorn were stuck to the ends of it.

"I've been thinking about it." Frankly, that was a lie: she had other things on her mind…

"You could always come to school here too. I know your grandmother wouldn't mind." Just at the mention of her grandma made Winry tense somewhat, but she had realized that she promised herself not to bring up any old feelings of anger.

"Did you talk to her lately?" Winry asked, with no venomous tone laced in her voice whatsoever.

"I talked to her last night actually. You were just too busy calling your boyfriend to notice," Rose teased, as she grabbed a handful of popcorn. "But seriously though, you should consider it. I know Ed and Al would be glad to have you around."

"Sure, I'll just throw away my years of school experience for a couple of boys," Winry stated sarcastically. "That'll turn out well."

"You'd adjust fairly well here. You take the heat better than most people." Winry rolled her blue eyes at this, shaking her head in dismay, but the smile lighting up on her lips was enough to say she wasn't annoyed in the slightest.

"Nice pitch. I'm sure that's enough to convince me."

"Ok, whatever you say." But now that Winry was thinking about it, would Edward be happy if she had chosen to stay? Or would he rather try a long distance relationship? It was hard to say, since it was difficult to get a good read on him sometimes.

It also didn't help that Rose wasn't convinced of her answer either.


	27. It's Been a While

**Holy schist; 170 reviews. I never expected to have that many for this story… So thank you all so, so, so much; let's see if we can get to 200 by the end of it. LOL.**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 27: It's Been a While**

"You look great, I look great, what's the problem?" Winry huffed, pursing her lips into a firm line, as her blue eyes scrutinized Edward's.

"There's no problem," Edward retorted, crossing his arms and pouting, as if he were five and not fifteen. If Winry looked close enough, she would be able to detect a rosy blush crawling up his cheeks. She'd know for certain that he was flustered entirely. And it was not because of the excruciating heat outside, as they walked side by side on the way to Izumi's house.

"You've seen me in clothes like this all the time," Winry announced, not missing the eye roll that Edward gave her in response.

"Exactly. So can we just drop it?"

Winry sighed. Maybe it was too much to ask for to receive validation on her outfit. Maybe it was too much to ask for a simple compliment, and yet, Edward had made it a point to tell her to cover up. In his own way, of course. In fact, Ed was the one who made it a point to bring up since he picked her up ten minutes ago. Winry smirked, knowing that her appearance had dazzled him in such a way that it made him speechless.

Winry also made it a point to sneak glances his way also. For a guy who had simple taste in clothes, Ed would look handsome in just about anything he wore; a collared black shirt and his usual dark jeans always did wonders to his figure. And it didn't help that he left the first couple buttons unbuttoned, revealing his collarbone…

Winry felt something warm encompass her hand, causing her to look down, mildly shocked, to find that Edward was holding her hand. Winry smiled at that, knowing that public displays of affection was not his forte. She usually didn't mind that she'd initiate the contact, but it was nice to know that Ed cared enough about her to show her off in public.

"You're really nervous," Winry stated. She could see from the corner of her eye that he was tensing up his shoulders as he walked and that he was clenching up his jaw. Winry knew him long enough to know that something was weighing down on his mind.

"I'm not," was all he said, though Winry didn't think that he was aware that he was squeezing her hand, almost as if he were seeking reassurance.

"So you bring girls home on a regular basis?" Winry quipped sarcastically, which definitely earned a dirty glare from Edward. But then he did something completely unexpected.

"You jealous?" Winry was suddenly taken back by his smile. A smile that she knew all too well.

"No. Not in a million years," Winry huffed, deciding she had to be more preoccupied with tucking stray blonde hairs behind her ear with her free hand. She had to bite down on her lip to stop the sudden rush of jealousy coursing through her veins. She just didn't like the thought of Ed being with a whole bunch of girls, despite the fact that she knew he was never in a relationship. Winry sighed; she was acting completely ridiculous…

"I think someone is," Edward sang. "I mean, why else would you be squeezing the daylights out of my hand?" Of course he thought that this was funny…

Winry didn't pay any attention to that, though she felt a bit of embarrassment clouding over her, as she loosened her grip on his hand. Maybe she was a little obvious when it came to showing her emotions. She was pretty outgoing most of the time. "I'm sorry," Winry reluctantly confessed.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you," Edward snickered, and this time he was on the receiving end of a malicious, unamused glare.

"You heard me just fine, you jerk," Winry stated, though it wasn't long before she burst into a fit of giggles. Little did she know, she failed to meet Ed's golden eyes soften from their usual guarded expression. "But I should be asking you if you're jealous."

"Why would I have an answer to that?" Edward deadpanned, though he didn't sound at all bitter like Winry expected him to be.

"I don't know. Maybe because you don't want anyone else to see what I'm wearing?" It was only fitting that Winry winked at him, as she slyly nudged his shoulder with her own. Yep – that was one way to get underneath his skin.

"Don't flatter yourself." Winry knew that he was only saying that to save face, but in reality, she knew that by the look in his eyes, she was successful in getting the reaction she wanted.

"So you wouldn't mind if there were guys who wanted to look at me?" That was one way of putting it, Winry supposed.

"You're an idiot," Edward sighed, as he looked away from her teasing gaze. Winry couldn't stop the wide smile from forming on her lips, realizing that was his way of telling her that of course he wouldn't like it. Winry jokingly mused to herself that she should write a book revolving around decoding men. Of course she wouldn't use Edward's name specifically, but considering how he acted around her sometimes, why should she not help out any other girl who had problems with their boyfriend?

"Am I?" She didn't think she ruined the moment, considering that Edward didn't respond to her this time.

"Yes. Why I bother putting up with you? I've got no idea," Ed snickered. Winry on the other hand merely rolled her eyes, but the smile on her face was code for how much his blatant insults never really bothered her.

"You know you love me. That's why," Winry blissfully stated, as she threw another smile his way.

"Sure. Why not?"

The remainder of the walk was spent in contented, blissful silence: it was far from discomfort, though Winry wished that Edward could pick up the pace a little bit. Winry knew that he was just as anxious as she was – the death grip on her hand signified that. But Winry had to grin and bear it anyway; she could reassure him that they could just do this another time. She did feel guilty that she brought up the idea of meeting his family, but he never judged her for doing it.

What was there to be afraid of? She did her best to be presentable, but what if she still looked sweaty and gross?

Well, Winry would find out soon enough, and she might as well say that her expectations wouldn't even come close to the real thing.

After all, she certainly wasn't expecting to find herself several feet away from a butcher shop. Izumi and Curtis' Butcher Shop, to be more specific. She had to admit that it was quaint and simple, for a shop that was squished in between two other apartments. It could use a paint job in several departments, but it was mostly presentable, as far as she could tell; apart from some chipped paint underneath the windows, Winry would say that the light chestnut paint did wonders for the building. There weren't any extravagant, over-the-top advertisements, but that didn't ruin the overall welcoming atmosphere that this building radiated. She could only hope that the interior would be just as lovely as the exterior…

It didn't help that Winry could take a deep whiff of the mesmerising scent of the variety of sausages that poured out from between the door cracks. That had to be a good sign. She could also detect beef jerky? Yeah, she was pretty sure it was beef jerky.

Winry might as well be drooling in delight, that was if she had been alone and not in the presence of her boyfriend. She didn't really need his snarky comments today regarding her appetites for various foods. He might have a change of heart once she made some apple pie for him. Perhaps that would be enough to compromise some of his character for her.

"You ready?" Winry was suddenly jerked out of her thoughts by Edward, who poked her several times. No doubt that he had seen her stare off into space with a vacant expression on her face, which was not at all attractive if she was being honest here.

"Are you?" Winry snorted, hoping that she could hide how nervous she was. She was hoping that her boyfriend's oblivious personality would allow him to not pick up on it. Unfortunately, she knew how that always ended: in failure. That's what she usually got for not giving him enough credit. Though Winry had to admit, begrudgingly mind you, that she was extremely grateful that he paid enough attention to her;

"It's not like you're asking them for their blessing to marry me," Edward stated sarcastically. "You just need their blessing to date me."

"You're hilarious," Winry sighed, shaking her head in dismissal of his comments. "But what if they don't like me?"

"Are you really upset about that?" This time, there was no teasing in his voice; in fact, Edward looked pretty surprised.

"Shut up." Winry could feel her cheeks burn in embarrassment. "I haven't exactly done this before, Ed. What if they don't think I'm good enough for you?"

"Why the hell would you say that?" Edward scoffed. "If you honestly think that, you're dumber than I thought."

"Nice way to sugar coat it, Ed," Winry hissed. And here she was, hoping for some comfort.

"You don't need to worry about it so much. They're gonna like you. But even if they don't, don't you know what really matters?" Edward was only trying to say that he'd love her no matter what – even if the night would turn out to be a major bust. But he couldn't help but admire how caring she was: she was willing to do anything for him.

"I don't know… I really want to make a good impression," Winry insisted.

"You've made a good one on me. And Al." For extra reassurance, Edward massaged circles over Winry's palm with his thumb, as he made it a point to look her directly in the eye. "I know I told you how Izumi is… but they're both good people."

"I don't doubt that." If she had to repeat that mantra over and over again, Winry had to believe it.

"I still like you, ok?" Edward huffed. "Nothing's going to change that. Now let's go in," he cleared his throat, as he turned around, his back facing Winry. And there it was again: the way his shoulders tensed in determination. Something that clearly attracted Winry, but it wasn't like she was going to tell him that.

Winry shook her head violently, as she followed Edward into the shop; she knew that if she kept thinking pessimistic thoughts, she wouldn't feel any better about herself at all.

Her thoughts were put on hold, fortunately, as they walked into the shop. Winry almost had to catch her breath, taking note of the interior. For meat shops, this one was cleaner than most; normally Winry couldn't stand the permeation of various raw meats, but given that she had caught wind of beef jerky earlier, Winry appreciated how everything was already cooked, not to mention how they were organized into different freezers.

Again, there weren't any over-the-top colours that stood out, in Winry's opinion; the walls were painted a nice shade of mahogany and the floor was hardwood. Winry found herself appreciating the warm and cozy atmosphere, though it was a little too quiet for her liking.

Well, if she was really being truthful here, she appreciated that there was excellent quality air conditioning.

The sweat that was forming underneath her armpits was sure to dissipate in no time…

"If it isn't Edward Elric," a masculine voice boomed from the opposite side of the room, catching both Edward's and Winry's attention.

Before she even knew it, Winry was subjected to the sight of a monstrously proportioned middle-aged man, folding a stained apron, approach them.

Winry didn't care so much about the blood on the said apron than she did about how intimidating this man was. Winry gulped, attempting to summon her courage, as she noted how tall he was as well. She was almost scrutinizing him to the point that she realized that he could break her like she was nothing but a toothpick – she was sure she had never seen muscles quite like his… If she thought his muscles were frightening, she didn't know what to make of his dark almond eyes either; perhaps they hardened as age caught up to him, Winry pondered, as she noticed the wrinkles underneath his eyelids. Or perhaps he just had a long day…Even his facial hair had seen better days, given that streaks of grey could be seen on occasion.

But since she saw from the corner of her eye that Edward was relaxed in his presence (somewhat), Winry knew that she didn't have anything to fear.

"Hi Curtis," Edward greeted in return, giving a guilty smile. But it completely disappeared once he found out that his hair was just ruffled, as though he were an impertinent child. Edward scowled, but the perpetrator in question merely smiled blissfully.

"I thought you wouldn't be here sooner," the man chuckled, taking in Edward's discomfort in stride. "Don't tell me you're scared about seeing Izumi again."

"Do you really think that I'd be scared of her?" Edward rolled his eyes, scoffing arrogantly. But everyone knew that he was only trying to save face. Though no one bothered to question it.

"I don't know about you, but maybe your pretty girlfriend would," Curtis answered back, his eyes flickering over to Winry briefly. "I heard a little bit about you," he grumbled, as he extended a hand out towards her. "I'm Curtis."

"I'm Winry. It's nice to meet you," Winry smiled politely.

"I hope Edward's treating you well," Curtis gruffly stated, as he ignored another eye roll that came from Edward. "He can be rather brash at times, but he means well."

"It means a lot to hear you say that," Winry admitted. She clasped her hands behind her back, as she shifted her weight over to her right leg. "But he's good to me. He's a sweetheart," she sang, as she looked directly at Edward as she said this.

"I've heard many things about him, but I've never heard anyone say that," Curtis laughed, but it wasn't at all in a mocking tone.

"Well, they just need to take the time to know him," Winry claimed, "Deep down, he's just as sweet as anyone else." Winry could have sworn that she heard Edward curse underneath his breath. But never once did he turn away to hide his mortification.

"Edward, this girl's a keeper. So don't lose her, you hear?" Curtis grunted, before giving him one last hair ruffle, much to Edward's dismay. "What was that boy?" He raised his voice, raising an eyebrow in curiosity, as he thought he heard Edward mumble something incoherent.

"I won't," Edward spat out quickly, and reluctantly, but Curtis wasn't one to criticise him for his attitude. No, he left it to Izumi to chastise the boy when he needed discipline.

"Good to hear. Supper's almost ready, so we can make our way to the dining room," Curtis explained, as he pointed toward the door behind the cash register.

"Is Izumi cooking?" Edward inquired, with an astonished tone of voice.

"Yes. Is there a problem with that?" Curtis inquired slowly, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. It was an expression that would probably frighten most people, but Edward didn't seem to be unsettled whatsoever.

"You make it sound like I don't like her cooking at all. Sheesh," Edward snorted, as he laced his fingers with Winry once more, much to her contentment. She couldn't ever get over how they curled over hers, if how her heartbeat slightly picked up its pace wasn't anything to go by.

"That's what you said. Not me." Winry nearly chortled at this interaction, though neither one of them paid attention to it.

"I'd rather her not knowing I said that, thanks," Edward remarked.

"Women always figure out the truth. I'm just saying…" Curtis trailed off, staring towards Edward for a brief second before he gazed towards Winry. "Am I right?"

"You're not far off on that actually," Winry chuckled, as a smirk etched unto her lips. "He just happens to be surprised about it every time."

"As much as I would love to continue this conversation, shouldn't we be having supper?" Edward didn't really want to be talking about this, if his sarcasm was anything to signify that. Winry knew that there was only so much teasing that he could take.

"Lead the way then. That'll leave me to talk to Winry for a bit," Curtis said nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders. The way he did it without a care in the world seemed to amuse Winry somewhat, though Edward looked a little bothered by the fact that Curtis wanted to talk to her.

Yep, Winry didn't seem to have a problem with it either, leading her to believe that this evening wouldn't be as bad as she thought.

**:3 :3 :3**

If Winry thought that she felt completely at ease earlier, she didn't seem to really have that feeling engraved in her fully until she had seen Curtis' house, which was just behind the shop. If not for the air conditioning, there were other things that impressed her.

Winry knew simplicity when she saw it; there were no signs to suggest that Curtis and his wife splurged on the fancy things in life – only the necessities. There weren't as many decorations in the living or dining rooms; though there were some household plants decorating the corners of the rooms. A few landscape paintings were lined up in the light brown living room walls, but other than that, there were hardly any photographs, other than the wedding photos on the coffee table just across from the leather couch that occupied the back wall.

It was a fantastic open space, Winry had to say that much. The oak floors that surrounded both the dining room and living room accentuated the simple vibe the entire household seemed to radiate; ornate lightbulbs hung from the ceiling in a symmetrical fashion. And what Winry appreciated the most had to be the beach-brown bookcase that was adjacent to the coffee table by the couch.

The dining room was also an open space, as Winry learned that Izumi didn't really like walls in between these rooms. Though unlike the living room, the dining area was bare-walled, though the wallpaper was starting to chip in several places. The oak dinner table more than made up for the cracks in the corners of the walls, however. From what Curtis also told her, it was something that had been passed down in Izumi's family for generations; she couldn't find the heart to give it away. That had to mean that she was pretty sentimental, though Edward had scoffed at that.

Everything seemed tidy and perfect, considering how busy Curtis and his wife was. And speaking of which…

As Winry and Edward were steered to sit beside each other on one side of the table, where plates, silverware and glasses were placed before them, they had almost gawked in awe, noting the plethora of food before them.

If Winry thought she was excited over the fact that they were having chicken casserole and stew for supper, she didn't quite comprehend the look of nostalgia on her boyfriend's face. Though it took her a couple of seconds to realize that these must be his favourite foods.

"Don't you dare try to stick your hands in the food yet, Elric." Winry looked up quickly to see a woman, dressed in a plain, sleeveless blouse and black capri pants that hugged her every curve, glaring maliciously toward Edward. She held another pot, which contained cooked vegetables, and she slammed it unto the table.

"What can I say? I'm hungry," Edward replied, shrugging his shoulders in a non-caring fashion.

"You would think you'd introduce me to your girlfriend first, before you stuff your face with food," the woman scoffed, as she crossed her arms. "I've had a busy day today, so you have to forgive me for not having the pleasure to meet her sooner." Winry saw how Edward's cheeks were burning brightly, as he scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Winry, this is Izumi, my godmother," Edward introduced. "Izumi, this is Winry… my girlfriend," he mumbled.

"It's nice to meet you," Winry squeaked, noting how Izumi's onyx eyes stared into hers, as if she were studying her. She couldn't help but think that she was daunting, but she could say she understood why Edward said what he said about her.

"You're Winry, huh? I've heard so much about you, but I can't say that this idiot boy here was doing you justice. I had to learn about you from Al," Izumi sighed, as she took a seat across from Winry.

"I must have forgot," Edward snorted, but that only earned an irritated glare threw his way. No guesses who did.

"You can obviously reflect on the reason why while the rest of us eat," Izumi proclaimed. She turned her head to look back at Winry, with a small, but still visible, smile on her lips. "Feel free to dig in."

"This all looks good," Winry praised, as she started to scoop a small pile of vegetables unto her plate. She handed the pot to Curtis, who nodded his head in thanks.

"But does it taste good, I wonder?" Izumi asked, as she filled her plate up with casserole. "I haven't made any of this in a while, Edward, so you better be grateful," Izumi stated, pointing her fork in his general direction.

"Thank you very much for the meal, Izumi," Edward spoke, as he decided to take a little bit more stew. Winry didn't fail to see how he licked his lips; if anything, she'd say that he was looking forward to it.

"So Winry, how did you meet my idiotic godson?" Izumi inquired. Winry sweat dropped, realizing that this woman didn't fail to engage others into conversation. If Winry had to guess, she was pretty blunt with words.

"I wouldn't say I'm an idiot," Edward muttered to himself, but Izumi didn't seem to pay him any mind at all.

"Well… I was with my friend Rose one day, we were going to see Tangled," Winry began, as she pursed her lips in thoughtfulness. "I just bumped into him… and he didn't even help me up. I didn't think I was going to see him again, but we keep running into each other."

"Edward Elric, I thought I taught you better than that," Izumi growled, as she swallowed a spoonful of soup.

"I walked her home one time," Edward protested.

"And I'm sure that's the most romantic thing you've ever done," Izumi said sarcastically, eliciting chuckles from both Winry and Curtis. "So I take it that he had become quite taken with you at that point?" Izumi inquired, her gaze focusing upon Winry.

"I wouldn't know…we just started hanging out and one thing led to another," Winry answered, though she was somewhat disappointed with her vague response.

"It's good to build a relationship based on friendship first," Curtis commented, as he cut several pieces of his casserole before he gobbled them down.

"Yes, it is, isn't it?" Izumi smiled. "That was how Curtis and I got together. We were friends for a long time, but then he had the courage to romance me." Winry would certainly not doubt that: she could see the loving expression she doted, and she thought it was sweet, to be honest.

"You deserved that and more," Curtis huffed. Winry could have sworn she heard Edward gag, but she couldn't be sure.

"Oh, honey, you're too sweet," Izumi gushed, as if she were a teenaged girl with a crush.

"Yeah, yeah, he's a real Casanova," Edward piped in, rolling his golden orbs in response to this exchange.

"Well he certainly knows how to woo a woman better than you," Izumi hissed. "Girls deserve to be wooed, you know. They can only handle so much from boys like you." Winry noticed that she didn't say this with disappointment at all. She certainly was sentimental in her own way, which was something that Edward himself failed to tell her.

"He knows his way with words," Winry commented, unknowingly dispersing the 'tense' conversation between Izumi and Edward. "He might have been awkward around me at first, but he never treated me terribly." She promised herself that she wouldn't embarrass him, but she had to put in a good word for him.

"I should hope so. I swear, that boy does nothing but break hearts," Izumi sighed, clicking her tongue. "He's got a thick skull, so don't be afraid to lay it on him if he does something."

"Trust me. If I was mad at him, I'd let him know," Winry scoffed, but she could feel her heart lift in joy as she heard a chortle of amusement from Azumi. "But otherwise, I'd just tell him I love him."

"Is it love?" Izumi questioned, raising her dark eyebrow in curiosity, as though she were challenging Winry's statement.

"I know we haven't been together for very long, but…I've never felt like this with anyone else. I can't explain it." It wasn't that she couldn't, but she didn't want to mortify Edward any longer.

"What about you, Edward? How do you feel about her?" Izumi wasn't by any means irritated at all, but she was simply curious.

"I…she…" Edward stuttered, as he choked on his casserole. Winry, on the other hand, patted him on the back, before handing him a glass of water. The concern in her eyes were unmistakable, and so was his gratefulness.

"Look at that, honey, he's blushing," Izumi stated, as she grinned widely from ear to ear. "I'm assuming you love her a lot, right?"

"Whatever…" Izumi burst out into laughter, though Edward, not surprisingly, blushed even darker than he had before.

"And he's not even denying it. What has the world come to, honey?" Winry was glad, however, that this was being taken light-heartedly. She supposed the evening could have been much worse…

To show that she had the upmost support for Edward, she used her left hand to squeeze his knee underneath the table. He glanced at her, in an inquisitive manner, and she offered him a smile. And it made her extremely ecstatic that he returned it, despite how small it was.

All this happened with Curtis and Izumi studying them with curious expressions. But nevertheless, they were quite taken with the pair of lovebirds; Izumi knew that she would hardly admit how adorable they were aloud, but deep down, Izumi was content with this turn of events.


	28. Dreaming Alone

**Thanks for the lovely reviews; I'm sorry that I didn't reply to any of you – my laziness is becoming a big problem. LOL. Nevertheless, please let me know what you think about this chapter: I will really appreciate it! XD**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 28: Dreaming Alone**

"Winry, may I speak to you for a minute?" Winry glanced up, seeing Izumi standing before her with an inquisitive expression. Winry pursed her lips, knowing that judging by her facial expression, she had something she needed to talk to her about desperately. Winry would be lying if she said that she wasn't scared about the impending discussion.

"You don't need to worry about the boys," Izumi sighed in exasperation. "They'll be doing some bonding while we do the dishes."

"What kind of bonding?" Winry couldn't help but ask, as she raised a blonde eyebrow in curiosity. Edward always seemed guarded, completely restricting his interactions with other people, and when she had seen how close Edward was with his family, she found it necessary to ask. It was almost as if he were a different person around them than he was around her.

"GODDAMN IT!" Winry almost flinched, after hearing the all too familiar bellow belonging to her boyfriend. Winry blinked, just as she turned around into the living room to see that Curtis and Edward were attempting to play a friendly game of chess. And if she did not know any better, if she had Edward's irritated exclamation to go by, she'd say that Edward was losing. She chuckled to herself; he was, not that he'd ever admit it, a sore loser when it came to competitive games. She would know all about that after all.

"No matter how many times they play, Curtis will always beat him," Izumi chuckled in amusement. "Now, would you like to wash or dry?" She asked, her gaze settling over the large pile of dishes on the kitchen counter.

"I'll dry," Winry offered, as she did her best to put aside her nervous feelings from consuming her. Her instincts were pretty much screaming at her to be considerate.

It helped, on the other hand, that Izumi wasn't studying her with a calculative glare. But still, it didn't hurt to keep her guard up.

"You look tense. Are you alright?" Izumi grunted, as she swept by Winry to grab some plates. She looked back to see Winry's astonished expression, which made her laugh. "It's that obvious."

"It's nothing," Winry shrugged, hoping that Izumi would be convinced by the small smile thrown her way. She even had to bite the inside of her cheek in order for her to get a grip on her emotions. Luckily for her, Izumi was more concerned with dumping the mass amount of cutlery and eating utensils into the sink.

"I'm not going to kill you, if that's what you're thinking," Izumi remarked lightheartedly. Winry cracked a miniscule smile at that, knowing that it was her sense of humour.

"That's not it."

"I didn't think so either. So what's troubling you?" If Winry didn't know any better, she'd say that she was concerned.

"I was going to ask you that," Winry answered. "Did you want to talk about Ed?"

"You've read my mind, girly." Izumi paused briefly. "The plates go in that cupboard over there and the silverware are usually in the first drawer. You can put them anywhere; you don't need to sort them." Winry nodded her head in acknowledgement. She quickly dashed off to the adjacent counter, efficiently drying off a couple of forks and spoons as she placed them into the first drawer – though Winry cursed, seeing that it was a little difficult to open.

"You're right. I did want to talk to you about Edward," Izumi began, as she placed a couple of plates into the dry rack. Not once did she peer over towards Winry, which could only mean that she was dead serious. "I'm sure he's probably told you this, but he's been through a lot in his life."

"I know…" The question of whether or not Izumi knew about Winry's memory loss was something that was on the tip of her tongue, yet she was afraid to ask.

"I know that his childhood was excruciatingly painful." This time, Izumi did glance in Winry's direction. And Winry knew by that look, which wasn't full of spite however, that she just knew about her. This didn't make Winry feel any less guilty about what happened though; because here was a woman who had shown great lengths to care for Edward and Alphonse as though they were her own – no doubt she was protective of them in her own way.

"I'm sorry…"

"For what?" This time, it was Izumi who was astonished, although it wasn't that obvious to spot.

"I…I lost my memory and he thought…" Winry couldn't even finish her sentence without a hard lump forming in the back of her throat. She'd still have the urge to cry and cry every time she thought about what happened back when she was a child. The guilt for putting Edward in that much pain would never leave her, no matter what she'd do.

"He thought that it was his fault? That's Edward for you," Izumi finished softly. "He can put on a brave face just when he knows he's scared about something. Ever since he lost his parents, that's how I knew he changed."

"And then the accident with his leg…" Again, Winry couldn't find the right words to convey her feelings. But Izumi seemed to know everything that was on her mind.

"He says it wasn't painful," Izumi deadpanned, shaking her head as she snorted in disbelief. "But I know that boy a little too well. Edward may have a high tolerance for physical pain, but not when it comes to losing the people he cares about."

"He makes you worry a lot, does he?" Winry quipped, before she grabbed another plate to dry. She noticed that for most of the conversation that she had been standing perfectly still, much to her annoyance. She was normally pretty good at multitasking and this time shouldn't be any different.

"You can say that again. I know that he makes you worry too." Maybe Winry was that obvious.

"How?"

"I may not be as young as I used to, but that doesn't make me stupid," Izumi stated. "I see the way you look at him. And I see how he looks at you too." Winry couldn't fight off the massive blush that was crawling unto her cheeks. "I can see how you love each other."

"I wouldn't go that far," Winry grumbled, looking down at the floor in mortification as she walked back to the other cupboard. She knew that she just lied straight in Izumi's face, but it was only a natural reaction. She didn't think that Izumi would fall for how Winry tried to cover it up either. Considering that she couldn't acknowledge the fact that Winry's hands were shaking somewhat.

"When I first met Curtis, I was just as stubborn as you are," Izumi commented. "He would do his best to make me fall in love with him. Back then, I didn't… I didn't see how much of a sweetheart he was. It took him some time, maybe two years, before I agreed to go on a date with him," Izumi supplied.

"Ah," Winry acknowledged. "So were you guys high school sweethearts?"

"Yep. We were in the same grade. I never really looked twice at him before, but when he first walked up to me, I thought he was trouble," Izumi chuckled. "It wasn't until senior year that I agreed to go out with him."

"So how'd he win you over?" Winry asked.

"He wasn't over the top with his declarations," Izumi answered. "He didn't get me anything to show how much he loved me either. You could say he did some little things, like walk me to and from school… he even tried to cook for me when we started dating."

"That's when you knew you loved him?" Perhaps their love story wasn't so cut and dry; Winry realized that was pretty much how things are between her and Edward.

"No. I knew I loved him not too long after his mother passed away; when we were at the funeral, I didn't stray too much from his side. I could see how lonely he really was; he didn't have anyone else. I continued holding his hand through it all. I knew then that I was meant to be by his side."

"That's…" Winry trailed off; she would have liked to say that it was romantic and sweet, but she didn't think that Izumi would want to hear that.

"It's ironic. When I was growing up, all I ever wanted to do was to be alone. And Curtis never wanted that." Winry could hear Izumi chuckle, but again, she couldn't detect any malice whatsoever. "So when I say that I see how you guys look at each other, you reminded me of myself." Obviously she meant in a good way and not in a bad way, right?

"Yeah, well… I don't know if he told you this, but when I first ran into him, he wasn't pleased at all." Winry found herself confessing this to Izumi, perhaps due to an urge to be social. Or maybe she didn't really know what else to say.

"I know. He wanted to keep his distance from you. He thought if he could do that then he wouldn't hurt you anymore. Idiot." Winry raised her eyebrows at this revelation, but to say that she was surprised wasn't the case. "I thought I raised him better than that. He thinks he can do anything he wants and claims it is all for their benefit."

"He thought I'd hate him," Winry offered. Pursing her lips, she continued in a much softer tone, "I have to admit I was mad at him for a while for keeping all of it a secret, but I didn't hate him. Nor Al."

"I didn't peg you the type of girl who would hold a grudge. If you did, then we would have a problem," Izumi said dryly. "There's nothing that means more to me than those boys to be happy. I know that you make Edward happy, since Al is the only one who bothers to keep in contact with me frequently."

"You don't live far away from him, right? You can always visit," Winry supplied. She couldn't ignore the way her insides turned into goo, knowing that Izumi really did care for her godchildren in her own way.

"That would only embarrass him," Izumi snorted. "Though to be honest, I don't really need to keep an eye on them that much. I trust they can make their own decisions and stick to them." In other words she trusted Edward and Alphonse to be responsible adults, despite the fact that they were only teenagers. Maybe they grew up too fast, considering what happened when they were younger. Winry certainly didn't blame them.

"They're certainly more mature than they look." Winry hardly faltered her movements as she went to dry another plate. This time, her fingers weren't shaking, and thus she had more confidence to carry out her duty.

"Yes, they certainly are. And so are you."

"I wouldn't say that," Winry said slowly, with a hint of bashfulness. "If I were that mature, I wouldn't be fighting with Edward so much like cats and dogs."

"It'd be more of a problem if you guys never fought. It's only natural," Izumi said. "If you recognize that, you should be fine. If you truly care about each other, you'll learn how to compromise."

"Sounds hard enough," Winry responded, without any sarcasm whatsoever.

"Winry, from what I get told, you're a nice girl. I know for a fact that you wouldn't do anything to hurt Edward. And he wouldn't do anything to hurt you." Izumi even made it a priority to gaze at her with a slightly solemn gleam in her eyes. But it wasn't there for very long, she figured. "All I want to know is if you'll be able to be there for him."

"Of course I will," Winry declared, clearing her throat. "If there's anything that I want most is for him to be happy too."

"That's good. Because he's going to need you more than ever."

**:3 :3 :3**

"You look relieved. Did something happen?" Was the first thing that Edward asked Winry, as she plopped down beside him on the living room couch.

"No," Winry chuckled, as her boyfriend rolled his eyes in skepticism. She didn't fail to notice him unconsciously scooting closer toward her, as his left arm was draped behind her. Izumi was clearly right about one thing – he did crave her presence, despite the initial aloof expression he donned. "I just talked with your godmother."

The conversation initially went better than expected, after twenty minutes of solid talking, Winry found herself to grow more comfortable around her. Izumi and Curtis were genuinely good people and Winry discovered that she'd come to love them in time if she hadn't already.

Yes, she was relieved, all things considered. Winry was prepared to hear the worst from Izumi, which only caused her to reach her breaking point in terms of emotional strength.

"What did she say?" Edward inquired slowly, sounding quite uneasy. Of course he would sound worried and self-conscious.

"She basically told me that she didn't want you to get hurt," Winry answered, gazing deeply into his amber eyes. What she said was technically the truth. "I made her a promise that I wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt you." It was a vow that she was more than willing to repeat if necessary.

"Keh. As if you really could," was what Ed managed to say in response. "It'll take a lot to hurt me."

"Like losing a limb?" Winry asked, as she caressed his right knee gently; little did she know that she sent shivers of pleasure down Edward's spine with her touch.

"It wasn't that bad," he protested. "I'd rather have it happen to me than to anyone else, you know."

"That's brave of you," Winry noted, just as she started to lay her head down on his shoulder, where it fit perfectly just like a matching puzzle piece. "I don't know if I could handle that much pain." She had to admit that Edward was incredibly strong; perhaps even stronger than her… considering that he had been overcoming obstacle over obstacle. And he did it without complaining.

"Of course not. You're such a baby," Edward taunted lightheartedly, so she knew that he wasn't trying to pick a fight with her.

"I'm your baby though," Winry whispered. "And you're mine." It should have been a lighthearted statement, but it turned out to mean so much more than that; she figured that what she just told him had made things completely official between them… Winry guaranteed herself that she didn't need anyone else and she could only hope that Edward felt the same way.

"Whatever you say, Winry." Winry was more than aware how she was gripping tightly unto his arm, but her attention was now mostly focused upon how warm his entire body was. He felt so good…

"Aren't you glad that we came here?" Winry asked, as a few minutes passed in comfortable silence. "I know I am."

"What are you talking about now?" Winry smiled, as she felt Edward squeeze her hand which rested on his knee.

"I'm just…I'm glad that I got to meet your family. They're amazing people," Winry explained.

"Yeah. They are," Edward admitted, eliciting another smile from the girl practically lying down on him. "And you were so worried that they wouldn't like you."

"It was only natural," Winry said defensively. "You try meeting my grandma without being anxious."

"I bet that I can," Edward proclaimed. Winry, on the other hand, wasn't so sure about that; her grandmother could be pretty intimidating if she wanted to. It'd be one thing knowing that Edward already knew Pinako Rockbell, but it was another thing to be introduced to her as Winry's boyfriend.

"If you think you're up to it, then let's do it," Winry commented wryly, eliciting a nervous reaction from Edward. Not that it was unexpected.

"You…want me to meet your grandma?" Edward queried, his voice unsteady.

"Why not? I got to meet Izumi and Curtis." Winry noticed that her eyes were slowly shutting themselves, and it was at that moment she realized how exhausted she truly was. And it wasn't even nine o'clock yet, but she supposed that she had a long, harrowing day.

"Winry?" She merely hummed in reply, as she took several deep, calm breaths; she was practically asleep anyway, and she didn't really feel like moving from her personal pillow. Not even the most comfortable bed in the entire world could give her those warm, fuzzy feelings that he did.

"Yeah?" Yep, she was pretty much waltzing off to dreamland right about now.

"Never mind. Just go to sleep." Normally Winry would have been annoyed by his cryptic words, but she didn't let it get to her this time. Instead, she let herself taking heed of his advice, though she failed to note how Edward brushed his free hand against the arm that was clutching his.

That evening, neither of them noticed the pair of charcoal eyes that looked over them with nostalgia. Instead, Edward and Winry drifted off to sleep with calm expressions and an ever tightening grip on each other; they were both anchors to each other's hearts, and nothing could ever change that.


	29. Skinny Love

**Sorry guys for the long update; I was off camping for a couple weeks and I just could not resist the campfires, s'mores, and swimming pool calling out to me. T_T There's also the fact that I've been feeling like crap for the past few days, so writing this chapter had proved to be a challenge. **

**Anyways, here is some more fluff with yours truly: please let me know what you think of it!**

**Tangled**

**Chapter 29: Skinny Love**

Winry huffed, letting air pass through her nostrils in irritation, as she turned over unto her stomach. She could not find it within her heart to sleep, no matter how much she wanted to desperately; she moaned as she clutched her pillow even tighter, while she attempted to calm down.

It was pretty obvious that she was about to have another one of those nights. Those nights often entailed listless shakes of her head, adjusting her body position to find a more comfortable one, and endless reflection. But Winry didn't think that she had anything on her mind that was bothering her and it was not as though she had caffeine recently that could have contributed to her insomnia.

Or perhaps that she was desiring for a certain someone to snuggle with her. Like I didn't sound desperate at all, Winry lamented to herself.

Winry sighed, licking her dry lips; several days had passed since she had met Edward's family, and she had been so pleased that it turned out to be not as terrifying as she thought it would. Winry liked the family dynamics that were presented, as she recalled how Izumi had treated Edward for the most part. But at the end of the day they still loved each other and that was something that Winry could find herself relating to him about. It did help that Winry's relationship with him had strengthened to some degree; snuggling with him was high on the list of the things that she liked doing with him.

And she could still feel his arms around her, delicately resting on her waist, hands somewhat trembling as they rested on her back…_He was cute when he was nervous._

Winry flushed; she had to admit that had to be one of the best sleeps she had ever gotten, despite how sore she was in the morning. But all of it was worth it when she woke up first, seeing the peaceful look that Edward donned; it was a very rare sight for her to see and that only made her love him more.

Winry remembered how she vowed to herself that she wanted to be the one that would bring out that look; she was the one that brought out his soft side after all.

Though that peaceful expression had to end soon enough, much to her disappointment; if it weren't for Izumi's presence, Winry thought that she could lie down on the couch forever with her boyfriend by her side. But alas, it was not meant to be, seeing that Izumi had made it a point to coo over them: the embarrassment that Winry felt was expressed through a brilliant blush that crawled up her cheeks. It only made matters worse when her shirt was riding up, somewhat exposing her torso. And did Izumi ever have a field day with that…Edward was also blushing quite brightly as well, much to her amusement.

Not that he would ever admit it, but Edward was changing bit by bit; the walls that guarded his heart may not have crumbled down entirely, but they were starting to break.

As much as she loved to think about this, this didn't necessarily provide any incentive for her to fall asleep.

If only he were here though – then that would be plenty of motivation.

And with that thought in mind, Winry reached for her phone, though she'd be lying if she said that she wasn't hesitant with her next idea. No doubt that it was late at night, if not very early in the morning, and it couldn't be guaranteed that Edward would even answer her at all.

She was being hasty again – she couldn't help it.

But Winry did want to hear his voice.

Winry found herself biting down on her lip, as she waited for him to pick up. She technically should feel like a moron for calling at such a late hour, but she would much rather be doing this than mindlessly lying in bed.

Edward was so going to judge her for this. There was no mistake about that.

"What is it Winry?" She gasped, as she heard his voice from the other side. She was flattered to an extent that he hadn't the audacity to immediately hang up on her, but she was more impressed that he didn't sound irritated at all with her.

"I can't sleep," Winry answered, not bothering to hide the small smile on her lips. It didn't matter that Edward couldn't see it, but she guessed that he would be able to tell that she was.

"I kind of figured that since you're calling me at 1 in the morning," Edward retorted, yet his tone of voice wasn't full of spite. "So what's up?"

"I just wanted to hear your voice," Winry admitted.

"We just saw each other a few days ago." Point taken by Edward Elric.

"I know. But still. Can't we just talk?" If they could even find anything to talk about at all. Winry felt like she had covered so much ground with him already. No. What she wanted most was to have him be with her. That didn't sound like a selfish desire at all, Winry thought sarcastically.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Just…anything I guess." It wasn't Winry's fault that she was being unhelpful, right?

"Stupid."

"Who are you calling stupid?"

"You are. You wanted to talk to me and you can't even think of anything to say," Edward snickered, much to Winry's embarrassment. Yep – he definitely was not going to let her live it down in the near future. He'd keep bringing up this particular conversation for as long as they both lived.

"I know – you can recall to me all the things that you like about me," Winry offered. Sure that might not be the best ice breaker, given that it sounded conceited, but she didn't have any better ideas.

"That's even dumber." She didn't even finish her sentence long enough before Edward interjected.

"You're a dumb person." Sure that sounded immature for her, but she couldn't help herself.

"I'm glad that we balance each other out," Edward snorted, though if she didn't know any better, Winry would say that she just amused him.

"Why? Because you can't tell all of them to me in one night?" Now it was her turn to laugh; there was nothing that gave her much joy than teasing her boyfriend in this regard.

"You wish," was all he said on the subject, before Winry told herself that maybe she should change the subject. Perhaps she could coerce him into telling her what she wanted to know another time.

"How's your leg?" Winry inquired, as she was struck with an epiphany. In all this time, in the past few days, she had not wondered at all how Edward was doing with his prosthetic. She felt guilty in that respect, though she wouldn't say she regretted the time she spent with him at his godparents' household.

"It's fine." His response was short and terse. For all Winry knew he could be feeling ok.

"It doesn't hurt or anything? When was the last time someone checked it out?" It was a valid question, and as someone who liked automail, she had to refrain herself from being too enthusiastic about it. When Winry didn't receive an answer in these past few seconds, she had allowed herself to feel suspicion. "Ed?"

"It wasn't recent, ok? It's feeling ok for me right now," Edward responded. He sounded so sure of himself but it was too bad that Winry couldn't bring herself to believe him. He just used the word 'ok' after all; if he really was in the best shape of his life, he wouldn't have said that. Edward may have experienced complications with his leg ever since they parted from Izumi and Curtis's household.

"I can check it out for you, Ed. It wouldn't be a problem." The words just slipped out of her mouth and she couldn't even stop them.

"Right now?" He sounded shocked. What a shocker, anyone could say.

"Of course. It's not like I'm gonna be falling asleep anytime soon." Winry paused, as she realized the meaning behind her words. "Were you sleeping though? I mean, you didn't sound as tired as I expected."

"No. I was up for a bit. I was planning on going to sleep, but…" Edward trailed off, almost as if he wasn't expecting he'd be telling her this much. But no doubt that it was because of his leg that Edward was keeping himself up. So he had to have been in some sort of pain. Well it was his lucky day then. And it also helped that Winry wasn't feeling as guilty as she was before about waking him up.

"I get it, I get it. I'll be right over," Winry proposed, as she forced herself to sit up. She might as well do it as quickly as she could before laziness would come to grips with her again.

"No. I'll be over to get you," Edward argued.

"What's the big deal? It's not like you live that far away." If he was concerned that she wouldn't be able to find her way in the dark, then he could just forget it. She had paid attention to miraculous detail before – it wasn't like he could stop her from doing this; she could easily find her way.

"It's not that. I just don't want you coming over here alone." Ok, that made far more sense in Winry's opinion. And she did recall how Edward escorted her back to her place after the horrendous excuse for a party that Rose had taken her too…which seemed so long ago. Though Winry couldn't bring herself to forget that memory because that meant that she and Edward had begun to develop a relationship on friendly terms.

"Aww, you're cute when you're protective," Winry gushed. Don't get her wrong – she was more than capable of taking care of herself, but there was a part of her that was flattered by Edward's reasoning.

"Don't call me that," Edward protested. Winry could tell that he was probably blushing on the other end. That was how things worked for him. If she complimented him, or even insulted him in an indirect way, he showed it through a blush.

"I can't help it. I'm sorry," Winry laughed.

"Sure you are, weirdo. I'll be there in about five minutes. Think you'll be ready by then?" Winry scoffed at this; the way that he put this was almost like he was challenging her. Well, the joke's about to be on him.

"Of course I will."

**:3 :3 :3**

"So Rose won't miss you or anything?" Edward asked, as he kept up his pace with Winry. From the corner of his eyes, he could see how she was shivering, which he scoffed at; it wasn't as dreadfully hot as it was in the day and the cool Liore nights would be enough to kill a person. But he had to give Winry credit for not complaining about it, though the chattering of her teeth was slightly grating on his nerves.

"She'll understand," Winry shrugged simply, as she dived her hands deeper into her jean pockets. She felt completely awake when she first stepped into the cool night with him. Of course she wasn't expecting it to be this cold, she bitterly realized. And Edward wasn't even effected by it when he came to pick her up, yet she could tell that his leg was causing him trouble.

"She won't misinterpret things?" He raised an eyebrow at this.

"Of course she will," Winry rolled her eyes. "Rose will say just about anything to tease us, you know. It's not like we're gonna be doing anything inappropriate." Her mind didn't need to go to into the gutter as of this moment but she might as well tell this to Ed, since he could be thinking just about anything at this point.

"I'll hold you to that."

"Good. As long as we're on the same page," Winry sang in amusement, though Edward's facial expression told her a different story.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He queried suspiciously.

"It means that I don't have anything to worry about when I'm with you. I know I'm beautiful and all, but I see the way you look at me."

Edward never said anything to dispel her teasing, though he snorted as if he found this to be ridiculous. Yet the two of them continued to walk together in contented silence, as they made their way through cobblestone streets toward his apartment. They exchanged glances between each other; Winry's smile was obvious to see, even in the dark, whereas Edward immediately looked away to save himself some embarrassment.

It turned out that he was still shy, even when they spent this much time together.

It was a fleeting thought, but it still appeared nonetheless: Winry knew that she had to talk about her Risembool situation with him. She would have to ask him if he wanted a long distance relationship. She knew about his feelings for her. They were as clear as ever. But if he wanted to take a break, then she would have to prepare herself emotionally for when the time came. And truth be told, she was only going to be in Liore for a mere couple or so weeks.

Time was flying by and it kind of scared her to be honest.

Not that she would have much time to torture herself with that thought any longer, as she thought she heard a hiss escape from Edward's lips. It came out so quickly that Winry could have imagined it, but even when she was in a daze, she had ears that could pick up anything.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine. We're here anyway," Edward said shortly, as he led Winry up the steps to the apartment building of which he resided.

"You're not fine. You sir are in pain," Winry deadpanned, narrowing her eyes in concern. "But it's a good thing you have me."

"I can take a little pain," Edward grunted, rolling his eyes at Winry's statement. Honestly, it was almost as if she didn't have any faith in him.

Truth be told, Winry did trust him, but it was only until they made it up the stairs upward to Edward and Alphonse's shared suite did she realize how much pain he was in. After all, it didn't take that long to trudge upstairs, though they had to be awfully quiet about it.

He was a stubborn mule, Winry reasoned, lamenting to herself, as Edward unlocked his front door. If he assumed she couldn't see how he was gritting his teeth, he had another thing coming.

"You need to take a seat, cowboy," Winry stated, taking charge of the situation. Granted she had been here a multitude of times, she knew her way well enough to locate some of the most key lights to turn on. After all, she couldn't see what Edward's problem was if it was too dark in here.

"Fine." In all honesty, it didn't seem like Edward wanted to fight with her. Maybe he was finally bringing himself to the point of exhaustion.

"So tell me the truth. How bad does your leg hurt?" She pinched her lips, as she watched him sit down on a kitchen chair. He sunk down into it without a care in the world.

"On a scale of one to ten? Maybe a six," he snorted, turning away so he couldn't see the look on her face. He was probably anticipating on her looking irritated beyond anything else. Irritation just so happened to be the understatement of the year.

"A six?" Winry knew better than to take out her frustrations out on Edward, so she supposed she could keep herself as rational as she possibly could. "When did it start hurting for you?"

"Today." That answer made her want to pull all of her hair out of her own head. He was going to be the death of her sometime soon.

"And you didn't call me because?" The conflicted expression that he donned was answer enough for her; she could see how ashamed he was and now he was struggling how to say it. "Ed?"

"I was going to call you," he confessed, which elicited Winry to widen her eyes in astonishment. "I really was. But you called first."

"So I guess you were just as scared as I was about waking you up?" Winry didn't know if it was ok to make light of the situation, but she figured she should arouse some sort of positive reaction from him. "Or were you more worried about Alphonse?"

"I wouldn't say that." But that was only a matter of perspective; in truth, Winry knew that he was also scared.

Before Winry could get a grip on herself, she found herself on her knees, lying her head down on his right leg. From all the time they were dating, Winry didn't think that she had paid quite enough attention to his leg, which did elicit some guilt from her.

"I still wish you would have told me. I could have fixed this and you wouldn't have to be in that much pain at all," Winry lamented, not noticing one bit of how Edward tensed.

"It's not your fault, Winry," Edward replied softly. "You're here now, right?" He may not be the best person to show sympathy, but in his own way he did show how he cared.

"Yeah. So then it doesn't hurt too much if I do…this?" Winry barely moved his leg over to the side before she heard him bite down on his tongue. "I knew it," she murmured, as she began rolling up the pant-leg so she could inspect the damage. Not that she was expecting that much damage to be honest; it wasn't as if her boyfriend went out to fight crime during the evening hours.

She worked away in silence, trying to see what the problem was by observation. Hell, it would have helped if she had brought tools of her own in case readjustments needed to be made, but Winry was so focused on coming over here, it seemed like this crucial detail slipped her mind.

"I hate it."

"What?" Winry blinked, as she looked away from her inspection to see Edward's face, though it was partially hidden due to his unruly bangs.

"I hate this leg," he deadpanned. "Ever since I lost my other one, I hate this one. It just…I don't know."

"Ever since you had your accident, you thought it was your fault didn't you?" Winry asked softly, and this time, Edward did take the time to look at her. She couldn't exactly get a good read on his expression, however.

"Not just that. But… this doesn't even make me look human."

"What are you talking about? Of course it does," Winry argued back. How could he possibly think that he looked horrid with that prosthetic? She knew he wasn't just saying this, so there had to be a reason for his sudden change in behaviour.

"Have you seen any of the scars?" Edward snorted. "Look closer."

"They're…not that bad." Winry was more or less tempted to trace over them with her fingers, if not for the motive that she'd give comfort to him. These scars didn't make him a monster, contrary to his belief.

"You don't need to be nice to me Winry. Even I know they're terrible."

"I'm not just being nice to you, Edward. This just makes you human." She paused to take a deep breath. "I don't know if this will make much difference to you but I like you just the way you are. I like every part of you the same. I know that you want to change everything if you could."

"Not everything." Winry waited for him to continue, though Edward remained silent after that.

"What brought this on all of a sudden?"

"It's nothing. Forget it." Now he was being back to being a recluse. Great. Winry did hate to start the process all over again, but she was absolutely determined to get the scoop from him.

"No, you're not shutting me out. How long have you been thinking about this?" She refused to be happy and cheery while someone she cared about felt like dying in the inside.

"For a while," Edward admitted.

"You mean you were planning on shutting me out?" Tears were starting to form in the brim of her eyelids, but Winry was able to rein them in for the time being.

"Of course not. I just wanted to find a right time to tell you about all of this."

"If you ever feel like you need to talk to someone, you have me," Winry stressed, as she stood up to stretch the kinks in her legs. It turned out that sitting for long periods of time on the floor did no miracles for her legs. "You don't need to keep it to yourself if it's hurting you like this."

"I'd rather if it hurt me than…you or Al," Edward proclaimed.

"You're an idiot." But he was her idiot; tough, stubborn, and extremely caring…


End file.
